


Ready, Fire, Aim!

by Sweety_Bird



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universes, Angst, Changing personalities, Cheesy romance, Depression, Developing Relationship, F/M, HYDRA screws things up, Healing, Hulk is a big momma bear, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Relationships, Kidnapping, Kittens, M/M, Mind Control, Misadventures, Post-Chitauri Invasion, Self Harm, Slow Build, Suicide Attempt, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-08
Updated: 2015-05-10
Packaged: 2018-01-08 01:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 60,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1126571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweety_Bird/pseuds/Sweety_Bird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of New York, the Avengers miraculously convinced a certain gamma specialist to stick around. Things are going great until his past comes knocking on the door.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. General Chaos

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on a RP, so it may seem a little strange. I will update as frequently as I can.  
> Co-authored by Lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms on tumblr.
> 
> Chapters will be short, but updated at least once a week.

It was the usual Monday afternoon. The hum of computers and machinery surrounded him, a comforting melody in the background of his muttering to himself.

 _Sir, might I point out that you have now been active for a consecutive 78 hours?_ Jarvis' chiding tone interrupted his train of thought. 

"Noted. Don't care. Working," Tony grunted, narrowing his eyes at the circuit board he was working on. Sleep was irrelevant, he had so many ideas to bring to life. That, and insomnia, but whatever. 

It was in the middle of JARVIS explaining to Tony the vitality of a good night's rest (a speech that he's heard seemingly a thousand times before) that Bruce came into the lab, having finally stopped and caved into catching some sleep, and later some tea, after hour 72. If he didn't let his engines cool off after an extended period of time, it always made keeping the Other Guy at bay that much harder. He swore, if JARVIS had the programming to sigh, he would've.

"You still up? I thought for sure that you would've passed out by now." 

Tony put down the tool he was using and fixed Bruce with a haughty stare, completing the look with a hand on his hip.

"Yeah, no, thanks mom," he scoffed, raking his fingers through his tussled hair. Between the AI and Bruce, he might as well have a set of parents. His irresponsibility was his own business, thank you very much. "What's the matter, can't handle a few hours without sleep?" He asked, cocking his head to one side. "You were looking pretty green around the gills." Smirking to himself at the joke, Tony worked on pouring himself coffee number.. Well, he lost track. 

Bruce suppressed an eye-roll. It amazed him sometimes how Tony could so casually bring up the Other Guy, but after living in the tower for 3 months, he'd started to get used to Tony's wisecracks.

"I bet if you stopped acting so childish, I wouldn't have to nag you all the time, twitchy," he said lightly, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Bruce moved to the other side of the lab to his station, setting down his mug of earl grey. He had just begun to poke and swipe through various Scientific Discovery articles on the tablet Tony had given him when a small notification appeared on one of the monitors to his left. It was a news bulletin....about General Ross at City Hall.

He felt the color drain from his face. "J-JARVIS play news footage," he said shakily. 

"Don't try to change me, Bruce. You know you love me the way I am," Tony fired back jokingly, returning to his work. He was tired of course, but refused to sleep. Nightmares- no thank you. He was in no way afraid, oh no, he just needed distractions. His attention was drawn to the big television screen as Jarvis turned up the volume and displayed the latest news. Watching silently, he couldn't help but shudder. This wasn't good.

 _"Millions of dollars in property damage, and no doubt thousands of civilian casualties. The Hulk is a monster and needs to be contained before any more damage is done!"_ Ross was shouting angrily, preaching to a huge crowd. The feelings seemed mixed, some agreeing and some disagreeing. It was obvious the judge was going to be forced to rule in his favor.

"Jarvis, mute." Tony turned to Bruce, apprehension mixing with concern. "Are you okay? He- there's no way they'll listen to that hothead," he tried to comfort. 

Bruce didn't reply. All the fears and anxieties that had finally begun to ease away came rushing back in a tidal wave at the mention of Ross' name. He didn't even have to really listen to the footage; he'd heard that speech what seems like a hundred times before.

How could he have been so stupid? How could he have allowed himself to become so comfortable here? He knew it would only be a matter of time before the Other Guy ruined everything; he always did. Plans to escape the city already began to race through his head, clouding his thoughts like a fear-induced fog. He stood to leave, knocking over his now cool cup of tea.

"Woah, Bruce, calm down. It's okay," Tony said, placing a firm hand on his trembling shoulder. He could feel the Other Guy moving around in the recesses of his mind, awakened by the mention of Ross; the beast started to try and tear down the carefully placed walls, desperate to take control. Bruce took a shuddering breath to try and center himself; now was not the time.

"No, it's not! I-I have to leave. You don't know Ross; you don't know what he's capable of. I won't put anyone in danger, especially not you or Pepper, or this tower, or anyone inside it." 

 

Tony frowned, his mind working quickly to try and come up with something to say. It was clear Bruce was going into a panic, which could be chatostrophic if he lost control. He wasn't afraid of the Hulk, but it would prove Ross' point, which wasn't good.

"Hey, easy buddy- I agree you need to leave. He won't stop at anything to get to you and the Hulk. But I'm coming with you. This place is boring anyway," Tony said firmly, leaving zero room for argument. His friend was in danger, so he would help him. Quickly he typed a message to Pepper explaining everything as best he could, then shooed Bruce towards the door.

"Come on, we need to get you out of here until we can figure this out. You don't have to go through this alone this time."

 

Bruce's moment of panic stopped for a moment, and he turned to look at the billionaire. He saw sincerity in his eyes, and for a moment all his fear and worry seemed to evaporate. No one other than Betty would've ever done that for him.... Maybe they could leave, and Bruce wouldn't have to say those bitter good-byes that he abhorred, and he wouldn't have to be alone anymore (Well, as alone as Bruce could ever be.).

But this flicker of hope snuffed itself out as fast as it had come.

"No, Tony you can't! You can't leave New York, and don't try and use that, 'I'm Tony Stark and I can do whatever I want' crap, because you know that Pepper would kill you if you just up and left! You have an image to uphold, and the Avengers need you!"

He stepped away from the other man and squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to calm his racing heart. If just the thought of Ross finding him could affect him so drastically, imagine what being on the run will be like? He needed to get a cap on this before the Hulk did something stupid and killed someone. He tried to keep his breathing steady and rhythmic, wrapping his arms around himself, as if physically holding himself together. He knew he must look ridiculous, getting so overwhelmed, but memories of Ross' military base, of the torture, of the pain, flashed in his mind and he couldn't help it. 

Tony thought that perhaps he had succeeded, and Bruce would allow it. But then the scientist's expression changed, and he knew that he was starting to shut down. Just like that he was pushed away; Bruce was clearly trying to go into 'lone gunslinger' mode.

"Hey- don't do this to me Bruce. I can leave, not just because I'm Tony Stark, but because you're my friend and you need me. Pepper would understand, she cares about you too. As for the Avengers, well, they'll be fine without me. You're an Avenger too, and we need the whole team, got it?" Tony insisted, crossing his arms stubbornly and fixing Bruce with a stare.

"If you don't let me come with you, I'll just follow you. I'm pretty good at tra-" The ground began to shake, cutting him off. Running to the window, he saw that there were tanks rolling up the road. Shit.


	2. Flying the Coop

Bruce's heart nearly stopped at the sight of the tanks, their green exteriors reminding him of the Other Guy's skin, and he felt his eyes widen in fear. Without another moment's hesitation, he ran through the lab doors, not even bothering to stop at his room to grab the few possessions he had, before making his way to the exit. Maybe if he could get out the many back entrance, he would be able to slip away undetected by Ross' soldiers.

He knew that Tony would probably try and follow him, and at this point he didn't care, he just need to get away from here.

He rounded the corner, nearly plowing into Steve, whom had just been on his way up from the lobby to meet with Clint for training exercises, and was only a few seconds ago staring around in confusion at the rumbling coming from outside. Bruce ignored Steve's questions about what was happening outside, much to the Captain's confusion, and instead chose to barrel through the doors to safety.

He didn't make it two feet out the door before he felt the all too familiar pressure of a gun against his back. 

In the meantime Tony swore and ran to the garage, jumping into the machine that assembled his suit around him. The face plate had barely snapped shut down when he was off, dashing to the balcony and leaping off. Shooting down along the side of the building, he slammed into the person with a gun in Bruce's back and landed behind the doctor, lifting his hands.

"Back off Ross. You can't have him," Tony growled, his repulsers whining as they charged up for a huge blast. His gaze snapped towards one of the tanks as the top opened, the General's head appearing. 

"Get the hell outta my way, pretty boy. That man is a public menace. Move now, or you'll be going to jail along with him," the man threatened, but had to duck back down when a repulsor blast shot over his head.

"Uh, yeah, no. Ready to go, Bruce-y boy?" Tony snorted, hands still raised in case anyone got any ideas. 

More than a little shocked, Bruce gave a quick nod in reply. He glanced back at the sound of a door closing, and saw Steve standing behind them, brows furrowed in confusion. He had little to no clue what was happening, seeing the military armed against his teammates, and he was more than a little torn on what he should do. 

Bruce wished he could give him an explanation, but instead decided to brace himself for what he could only imagine to be a very bumpy ride.

"Better clench up," Tony warned, wrapping his arms around Bruce and launching off. He could see that Natasha was watching from one of the windows, an unreadable expression on her face, but there was no time to explain. 

He had to fly slower than usual with cargo, but still he went fast nonetheless. A few bullets shot after them, but they all went wide. 

"We're gonna go far. No peanuts on this flight- sorry," he said, his voice coming out robotic and distorted. He flew them a few miles out of New York State and into the forests of Pennsylvania before he actually set them down- the flight. was uneventful anyway. He got the sense Bruce didn't like it though. 

"Jeeeesus!" He untangled himself from Tony's suit and let out a huge breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. 

He was grateful that Tony had been preoccupied during their flight, as choking down the adrenaline and the Other Guy's mad struggle for control had left him more than a little green. He thought that he could see small, finger-shaped dents in the armor where his hands had been clinging on for dear life.

"Thanks for the lift, but next time we need to get away, let's try and stick with more land-based travel, hm?" he breathed, hands on his knees.

He was still shaking a bit, but knowing that they were safe for a few moments put him at ease, of only a little. He straightened, looking around at the expanse of trees. "What now? Your suit is probably running low, what with the long flight and the extra weight... Do you think your jet could get us out of the country undetected?" 

The face plate on his helmet slid up, revealing Tony's grinning face. Considering Bruce hadn't Hulked out, his reaction was pretty funny. If he noticed the dents, he didn't seem to mind. The guy really had a lid on things. 

"Well, I don't know about you, but I don't think I can outrun a tank. Had to think quick- sorry big guy," he replied with a shrug of his armored shoulders. When he took the time to actually look around, he noticed a road not far off. Just a minute's walk, really. 

"Yeah, if I want it to stay a secret, no one will know I'm even gone. I can have it land in an airport just south of here and pick us up, but that means we either have to hoof it all the way there or hitchhike," Tony replied, tapping his chin in thought. "My suit is about half drained of power, but it should be okay so long as I reserve power for fights only. Hopefully we don't encounter any." They could just fly, but Bruce had been opposed, so they were walking.

Bruce gave an exhausted nod, and began their walk to the road. He could feel a slight frown curl his lips, as knowing their luck, a fight was almost a given. He remembered wondering vaguely if walking around in the suit was as difficult as it looked, but decided to keep his mouth shut at the spectacle.

It took a good while before they saw anyone drive past, and Bruce could have practically cut the awkwardness of two men (one with his long curls flying haphazardly across his head with tears in his shirt, and the other looking more like a shiny red and gold robot than a man, standing on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere) in the air with a butter knife. But they did finally see someone, thank goodness.

Tony didn't say anything on their little walk, which was unusual for him. Truth was, he was cursing himself for not getting some sleep. Sure, he would get nightmares, but at least he would have some rest. He considered putting the suit on autopilot and sleeping inside, but just then someone came around the bend. 

Quickly he walked out in the road, waving his hands for the driver to stop. He hoped that the driver would hit the brakes- armor or no, it hurt to get hit by a car.

Bruce was about to push Tony out of the way when he finally heard the screech of the old tires against the gravel. The driver, a woman, stepped out of the old white pick-up and ran over to the front of the vehicle. She looked at them with startled grey eyes, looking a combination of angry and surprised. 

"Are you okay?! Why did you just jump in front of my truck; are you mental?! I could've killed you!" she said with a mixture of concern and disbelief. 

Bruce stepped over to them, not quite sure what to say. He was glad when Tony finally spoke up.

"Am I mental? Well, that's debatable, but for another time I'm afraid. We need a ride to the airport, its about fifty miles south of here. Any chance you could give us a lift?" He asked, gesturing to himself and Bruce.

Tony let the face plate slide up once more, revealing who he was. How did this lady not know him? He was tempted to rant about how everyone should be able to recognize him, but didn't. Instead he removed his helmet completely and held it under one arm, offering her one of his charming smiles. 

The woman just stared at the pair with utter disbelief on her face. Bruce could tell that she was about to tell Tony to stick it, and quickly stepped in. He put on his best nice-guy face, the one that convinced people to help him out and let him stay in their house for a night, or take him to where he needed to go, that he'd perfected over his many years on the run. She didn't stand a chance.


	3. Time for Vacation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> None yet, but if there are any triggers I will warn about them before the beginning of a chapter just in case someone needs to skip. Hope everyone likes this so far!

A couple minutes later, they were inside the truck and riding down the road, the Iron Man suit weighing it down significantly.

"I don't know why I'm doing this. I barely know you! You guys could be serial killers for all I know!" The woman muttered mostly to herself, eyes locked firmly on the road. Bruce suppressed a grin. She sort of reminded him of Betty, with her dark brown hair and her I-don't-take-anything-from-anybody sort of air she had.

"So you really don't know who we are?" he asked politely.

"No, should I? I mean, I live out on my family's land a few miles back. I only went to town to get some supplies; I definitely didn't plan on picking up a couple of hitchhikers and driving over 40 miles out of my way to drop them off at the airport. I've never even been on a plane before..."

Tony really had to fight to stay rational. Really, the one person they run into and she doesn't know who he is? He's Tony fucking Stark for god's sake, how did she not recognize him? His name was on everything! Fuming in his head, he pouted very obviously on the outside, complete with crossed arms and a scowl.

"Lady, were not killers. We're Avengers. Do you know how many people would kill to have Iron Man and Bruce Banner in their car? I'd say the Hulk but -no offense big guy- I don't think anyone would want the Hulk _in_ their car. Bit of a squeeze really," he finally ranted. He didn't find it amusing like Bruce, his ego was severely deflated.

"Being a billionaire and all, I will PAY you to just drive us there, okay?" He huffed, settling back to sulk some more.

Bruce suppressed another eye-roll (which seemed to pretty much sum up Tony's entire personality), and shot the stranger a soft smile in order to further emphasize that they were the good guys. Well, at least at the moment; Tony was slowly making his way across that line...

He made sure to shoot Tony something between a 'be nice' and a 'be thankful you have a ride at all' glare through the rear-view mirror, before turning back to the driver.

"I forgot to ask, what's your name? Sorry, I'm not usually this rude, but as you can probably tell, it's been a hell of a morning..."

"Um, Clara. And you're Bruce? Nice name," she said warmly. Clara turned to Tony. "So you're a billionaire, huh? I'll make sure to keep that in mind when we stop at the pump," she said with a very Tony-like smirk. The irritated look it got her was definitely amusing. He could feel Bruce's eyes on him in the mirror, smirking at him, the fucker. He didn't have nearly enough coffee in his system for this.  
Tony completely ignored the look he was getting and shut his eyes, thudding his head silently and repeatedly against the glass.

"I'm Tony Stark by the way, thanks for asking," he grumbled, and considered asking Bruce to Hulk out and strangle him. There was a hell- it was this truck. He had a pounding headache, which was making his mood more than irritable, and he was absolutely exhausted. The smirk just about did it for him, too. This lady was too much like him- never had he missed Pepper so much. "I think I might pass out," he groaned, mopping his face. "If I'd known we would be getting shot at today, I would have slept." 

Bruce gave Tony a glance through the rearview mirror, and upon seeing the dark bruise-like smudges under his eyes, felt a pang of sympathy for him, although with all of Tony's bitching and moaning, it was hard to stay that way.

"Why don't you try and sleep for a bit? It will be about 30 more minutes till we get to the airport, and you can always just sleep on the plane, ya know..." he offered with a sigh. He was pretty tired himself, what with the small amount of sleep, the after effects of the small burst of adrenaline from earlier, and his mental struggle with the Other Guy. But someone had to stay awake, and Tony looked much worse for wear at this point. 

Tony suddenly sat up straighter, rubbing his eyes and glancing away. He almost looked anxious- though he was trying to hide it.

"Tell you what, I feel a lot better now. Besides, we should both stay alert in case something happens," he insisted, coughing nervously. He really didn't want to sleep, well he did, but he didn't want to face what came with it. And he certainly didn't want to wake up screaming when Bruce and this stranger were with him.

"I'll sleep on the plane," he lied. He felt like a coward to have such a change of heart, but hell, maybe he was a coward.

Bruce could hear the false tone in his voice, but decided that they could deal with that later, preferably in a more private setting than some stranger's vehicle.

They rode in near silence for nearly 20 minutes, the only sound coming from the truck's engine. It was sort of soothing, and was making it harder and harder for him to stay awake. He felt himself doze off once or twice, but managed to pinch himself awake, causing him to catch strange looks from the woman beside him.

Clara kept her eyes on the mysterious men in her truck throughout the ride, sending them contemplative looks that made Bruce the slightest bit uncomfortable. He wasn't quite sure what she was thinking, and was a little worried that their strangeness was making her have second thoughts on allowing them a ride. He just smiled politely at her curious stares, hoping that she wouldn't dump them on the side of the road.

Finally after another 10 awkward minutes of quiet driving, they arrived at the airport. 

Tony managed to keep himself awake by programming his suit to give him a slight shock whenever his brainwaves decreased below conscious levels. He noticed that the woman kept shooting him looks, so he made sure to meet her gaze every time.

When they finally, finally arrived, he was stir crazy enough to start doing backflips in the air. Instead he got out quickly, stretching and sighing before putting his helmet under his arm and walking to the driver's side door. A little compartment opened on his chest, and from it he withdrew a hundred dollar bill and held it out to her.

"This should cover gas," he said with a smirk, glancing at his private jet. His name wasn't on this one- incognito, right?

Bruce stepped out of the car, grinning a bit at the look Clara gave Tony when he handed her the bill. He stepped over to her and shook her hand.

"Thank you for your help. I hope that we didn't cause too much trouble..." he said with that nervous grin of his.

"Oh, no! It was fine." She paused, as if going over something in her head. "Maybe I'll see you again sometime..." she muttered, her eyes shifting to a dent on her truck's hood.

Bruce didn't know how to respond. He stared at her for a moment.

"Yeah, but I doubt that we will, unfortunately," he breathed, trying to brush off the comment like Tony did sometimes. You could say that he was more than a little unprepared for the expression of interest. He quickly turned away, thanking her one last time, before making a hasty retreat to what he could only assume to be Stark's plane, considering the grandeur of the thing. 

Just because he could, Tony put his helmet back on and flew to the jet -yes lady, he could fly, wasn't that nifty?- and waved at the pilot in the cockpit before landing next to the stairs.

"Smooth sailing from here, Bruce. Where do you want to go? I'm thinking Costa Rica, always nice this time of year," he sighed wistfully, climbing the stairs to stand at the top. He was being a little more casual than Bruce, but honestly he saw no reason to worry. They would get through this.

Bruce leaned a hand on the railing leading up to the plane, not turning to hear the the rumbling of the truck's engine as it drove away. He didn't allow his thoughts to stray back to her, and instead followed Tony into the plane. He stopped in the entrance, trying to process how Tony could still afford something like this with his Iron Man suits. It was lavish to say the least, which is not surprising, considering the owner. Still though, it was worth a good stare. He settled down into the lush, beige leather seats, and waited for Tony to do the same. He needed to relax a bit, and now they finally could...

When he got no reply, Tony shrugged and walked up to the cockpit. Bruce was probably just stressed out and didn't care where they went. He quickly relayed their destination and walked back down the aisle. However, instead of stopping he kept going- all the way to the back.

Two minutes later Tony returned minus the suit, sitting down opposite Bruce. "Well, its smooth sailing from here," he sighed, sinking into the chair and rubbing his eyes. The dark circles remained, though he tried not to outwardly show his exhaustion.

Bruce eyed Tony carefully. "Are you really okay? You look like you're about to give out from exhaustion... Why don't you sleep for a bit?" he said gently, in hopes of convincing his friend. He knew that Tony would probably brush it off and ignore him.

"Besides, you're no use to me half-dead," he added with a smile, a slightly serious undertone hidden in the statement.

The jet took off a minute later, making Bruce's stomach flop into his mouth. He didn't think he'd ever get completely used to that feeling. It leveled out fairly smoothly though, and from there he tried to enjoy the ride.

Tony sighed and leaned back, unconvinced himself.

"I'm fine," he said quietly, though he didnt accept or deny the suggestion to get some rest. He seemed very off, though he didn't want to confide in anyone. Not yet. Tony Stark didn't share his feelings, he swallowed them. Bruce didn't say anything else on the matter.

"So Costa Rica, huh? A bit touristy, don't you think?" He must've been getting nervous, despite his best efforts to relax. He didn't usually talk so much, especially with Tony in the room.

"Yeah well, its the last place they would think to look. And there are some places in the tropical forests that are off limits to tourists. We should be safe for a while, and it will give us time to plan and figure this out," he explained, Tony's eyelids drooping. Sheer exhaustion forced him to start drifting off, unable to hold consciousness any longer. 

Bruce only gave a gentle nod in reply, choosing to let Tony sleep instead. He knew he couldn't stay awake for much longer, and it wasn't a minute later that he heard the gentle snores coming from the figure sitting in front of him.

He sighed contently at this, rose quietly so as to not wake the billionaire, and looked around for something to occupy his time while they flew. The only thing he could find was a tablet, which ordinarily would have been more than fine with him, but seeing as how the device would ping softly ever so often with news updates, he didn't want to take the chance that he would see Ross' name in the headlines. Just thinking about it was causing the Other Guy to stir in the depths of his mind.

After 20 minutes of searching, he finally decided that he should probably try and catch some sleep too, considering that their near futures would consist solely of difficult and draining days on the run. He lay on the long bench seat on the side of the jet opposite Tony, and let his lids close, giving into the clutches of sleep without protest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitely some angst next chapter. Possible spoilers for Iron Man 3, though this part takes place before what occurs in the movie.


	4. Touchdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for nightmares and anxiety.

Tony slept fairly peacefully for about a half hour. However, there was a reason he had been avoiding sleep, and despite his carefulness it happened anyway.

It started with a twitch, his brow wrinkling slightly and his quiet snores pausing only to resume again. After a few minutes he got progressively worse, muttering under his breath, tossing and turning, and even whimpering. Nightmares had taken him like the plague ever since the incident with the nuke and New York, and what little sleep he did catch was riddled with horror and agony.

The nightmares were usually the same- various explosions, getting thrown out a window, space unrolling before him, sometimes even old memories of the cave in Afghanistan troubled his slumber. It was maddening, and it was the chief reason he didnt want to sleep. Another whimper issued from him, followed by a shaky intake of breath and the contortion of his face into an expression of pain.

It wasn't 40 minutes later that Bruce woke to the sound of Tony's troubled sleep. He was a fairly light sleeper, so he was instantly stirred by the inventors murmurs and cries. He bolted up from the seat, and moved across the small space.

"Tony. Tony! It's okay!" he assured, gently taking the man's shoulders in his hands. The man's face was contorted in pain, and a sheen of sweat covered his face. He continued to shake him, growing more and more desperate when the billionaire's twitching and uneven breathing didn't cease. If nothing, it was getting worse! Was this what he looked like, when he woke up screaming with green in his eyes? 

Tony continued to shudder and twitch, his whimpers mixing with little sobs until the nightmares suddenly disappeared and he was awake. Panting for breath, the billionaire reached up and felt his face, sweat and possibly tears leaving it wet. Using his sleeve he mopped his brow, shuddering in the aftershock of a horrible nightmare. The grip on his shoulders seemed to relax him though, because after a moment his bloodshot gaze slid over to look at Bruce.

"Hey," he croaked, because he couldn't think of anything else to say.

Relief washed over him as Tony woke, and even more so when the ragged 'hey' left his lips. Obvious worry was evident in Bruce's eyes; Tony looked haggard, and Bruce wasn't sure how to help him. He knew from experience the effect that nightmares had on a person, having suffered from them almost constantly for the first couple of years after the accident. He still had them every so often, although not nearly as frequently. Tony wasn't one to show or receive affection too well (and neither was he really), but Bruce continued to support him anyway, his hands holding the other man's shoulders as the billionaire shook and sputtered. Bruce held himself openly, almost as if to let Tony know that he was there if he needed the support, not wanting to smother him.

Finally after a few moments of labored breathing, he seemed to calm down a bit.

Tony took the time to get his breath back, calming down and letting reality settle in once more. Though he was never openly affectionate, the firm grip on him kept him grounded, reminded him he was here and not blowing up in space. Surprisingly he relaxed into the embrace, thinking about what he could possibly say to explain himself. It was embarrassing to say the least, but he didn't quite care considering the comfort felt nice. Pepper didn't know about his nightmares yet, and he wanted it to stay that way.

"Sorry you had to see that," he sighed, coughing once to clear his throat. Worrying Bruce wouldn't help anything- he should've stayed awake. Bruce looked at Tony with concern, his lips in a tight line. 

"You don't have to be sorry, Tony," he said lightly. "We all have nightmares, me included! You don't have to apologize for something you aren't in control of."

The irony of what he just said dawned on him like a church bell, as he thought back on all the times he'd apologized for the Other Guy's rampages, or had to leave those he cared about. But he forced these thoughts from his mind, and focused back on Tony.

"Listen, I may not be the best listener sometimes, but I'm still here for you. No one should have to go through this kind of thing alone," he offered, stepping back from him and sinking into the chair opposite Tony. He figured he should try and give the man some space now that he'd calmed down. 

Tony nodded, absently raking his fingers through his hair. He had barely gotten an hour of sleep, but he didn't want to try and sleep again. He was afraid it would start all over again, and it was so much easier to just stay awake and ignore the exhaustion.

"Thanks, but I don't want to talk about it," he said with a halfhearted smile, rubbing the back of his neck. He was grateful for Bruce's sympathy, but he didnt want to face the problem.

Bruce just looked at him with understanding, not wanting to pry where he wasn't wanted. He knew that Tony would have to face his demons sooner or later, and he would have to sleep eventually, so he left the issue so Tony could work things out for himself. He'd be there if he needed him.

He found himself staring out the small window at the view below, which wasn't much, only a few small islands scattered in the ocean below. The water looked dark and churned menacingly, like a storm was coming. "How much longer do you think we have in the air?" he asked. Tony flashed him a grateful look, then turned to gaze out the window. Anyone else would've forced him to talk about it, and he really couldn't handle any more stress at the moment.

"Maybe an hour, or less," he replied, casting the clouds a wary glance. "Guess there won't be any sunbathing today." It was a lame joke, an excuse to cover up his feelings as per usual. Sarcasm and smarmy comments were his defense mechanism; he sometimes did it without even realizing it.

A small smile played on his lips. _'How could anyone be so predictable, yet so random and chaotic, simultaneously?'_ he wondered absently.

The next 53 minutes passed by relatively quietly, with the exception of the Lead Zeppelin and AC/DC that Tony had blasting through the jet's sound system. No one spoke, though, which made the space seem somewhat peaceful, but off at the same time. Bruce chose to try and enjoy the moment of calm before their lives became what he could only expect to be chaos of life on the run.

A lurch from the jet, and a message from the pilot told them that they were now making their descent, broke him from his thoughts. The jet landed fairly smoothly, despite the now full-on storm raging outside, much to the pilot's credit. The billionaire and the physicist stood to exit the aircraft when the hairs on Bruce's neck rose. Something was wrong. 

Tony stretched, awaking from a slight doze as they landed. He was glad he hadn't fallen asleep again. He thanked the pilot, glancing at Bruce and frowning slightly at his expression. He didn't think anything was wrong, but then again he didn't have the best sense for those types of things.

"I have property here, we can probably stay there for a little while. Only Pepper knows about it," he offered, walking off the plane without bothering with his suit. 

The feeling in his gut only grew more intense as they exited the plane, making the Other Guy all the more present in his mind. It could just be the Other Guy reacting to the storm, like how an animal's instinct will make it behave erratically before a tornado, but that had never been the case with the beast before now... He offered Tony a grunt to acknowledge that he'd heard, but not much else. His mind was otherwise preoccupied.

Bruce shifted his gaze on either side of them, looking to make sure no one was ready to attack them from behind a corner or something else melodramatic. No one was there, but he still checked again just to be sure. To say that he was feeling a bit on edge would have been an understatement.

"I think something's wrong," he blurted. "I don't know, it just feels like we're being watched... Are you sure that no-one could've tracked us down here?" 

Tony gazed about, trying to see just what Bruce was freaking out about. However, his questions were answered when the man asked him about their surrounding. "I don't think so, but if its making you nervous.." He stood back, lifting a hand towards the plane. There was a rattling sound, followed by his metal glove shooting out of the plane and sliding over his hand. The other pieces quickly followed, each clicking into their respective places with metallic clanks. He had practiced, so he was able to propel himself into the air for a flip in time for the back plate to hit and lock into place before he landed on his feet.

"Never can be too sure," he said with a grin. 

Bruce stared wide-eyed for a moment, not really having seen Tony's new suit in action before now, well, not as himself, at least. He knew that Tony had been working on some new tricks with his armor but...

The gnawing presence brought his attention back to the gloomy sky overhead, lightning flashing and rain pouring down on them. Standing around in this downpour and catching a cold wasn't going to help either of them, so he swallowed down his anxiety and quickly moved from the plane to the ground below.

"Always nice this time of year, huh?" he grumbled just loud enough for the suits sensors to pick up over the rumbling. The wind was throwing his soaked curls around his head as he moved toward the protection of a sort of patio nearby. 

Feeling pride at Bruce's awed gaze, Tony smirked and let the face plate snap shut to keep the rain out. "Yeah, just hope I don't get electrocuted," he chuckled, though he did glance warily at the impending rain clouds. Wouldn't that just be his luck?

He followed Bruce quickly, keeping an eye out for trouble in respect of his friend's concern. He wasn't sure that he believed they were being stalked, but nonetheless he wanted to appease the doctor's anxiety. "Well, at least anyone following us will have a hard time tracking through a rain storm. That's just the universe on our side, pal." 

Bruce raised a mental brow at Tony's optimistic view of their situation. Maybe he hadn't really grasped the seriousness of the situation yet, what life on the run was sure to entail for them.

But he didn't want to dampen the mood anymore than it already was (Was that a pun, Bruce? You really have been hanging out with Tony too long...), so instead he asked, "So what now? You wouldn't happen to have a car ready to take us to this dream house of yours, by chance, would you?" He nearly had to yell over the massive clap of thunder that appeared mid-sentence.

 _Jeeze, you'd think having fought with the god of thunder some months ago that the guy could ease up of the downpour a bit..._ he thought irritably. 

Tony was kept mostly dry with his suit, though he did feel bad that his companion was thoroughly saturated. 

"Well, yes and no. No, I don't have a car, but I know how to hotwire one," he said, gesturing to an old van next to the building. He was grinning under the mask, because wasn't this just their luck. After a moment, he realized that the porch they were standing under belonged to an autobody shop. "Hmm.. I'll be right back. Don't you go getting any prettier," he jibed, then wandered into the shop.

Five minutes later he emerged, keys in his hand.

"Apparently, it doesn't take much to buy someone's silence and a car," he chuckled, tossing the keys to Bruce.

Bruce's hand shot up reflexively, catching the keys with a bit more coordination than he usually had, possibly from being so on edge. He gave Tony a small smirk. You can always count on Tony "Money bags" Stark to come through when you need him. He made his way over to the van, running through the downpour while Tony followed behind. The water caused him to fumble a bit with the slippery metal, but he managed to unlock the doors and step inside. He quickly started it and flicked on the heater in an attempt to dry off some.

Tony climbed in the back where there was plenty of space for his suit.

"Oh my god, there's shag carpeting back here. Kill me Bruce," he moaned melodramatically, flopping on his back in the the center of the van. It took him a moment, but he soon realized that Bruce didn't know where he was going. Sitting up, he clicked a button on his suit and a tiny slot popped off and into his hand. With a few quick pulls it expanded into one of his holographic screens, which he handed to Bruce as a map materialized on it. "Go the speed limit young man." 

Bruce chuckled, replying good-heartedly, "Yes ma'am, I promise!" A twinge of sadness tried to creep up from inside, but he quickly swallowed down the memory of his mother. Now was not the time to focus on long-repressed memories. He was careful not to let the expression come through.

He glanced at Tony in the back.

"Hey, try not to move around so much, huh? Your suit weighs a crap-ton, and this van isn't exactly the most high-tech. You're jostling is making the whole car move!" he mocked, although it really was a problem. The van's suspension wasn't all that great, so maintaining balance was a bit difficult. "I think I know why you got it for so cheap..." He glanced at the holographic map every few minutes, having never been to the country before, and having no clue where to go. It only took about 15 minutes to reach the Tony's house, for which he was grateful. He was dying to get inside and find a change of clothes!

Tony remained still, spread-eagled in the center of the van. 

"It's actually only 250 pounds," he pointed out, his face plate up. Apparently this was perfectly comfortable, because he didn't move until the van stopped.

Sitting up, he got out of the van and walked casually to his house. The outside had a slightly rustic appearance, what with a slanted green roof and walls that seemed to be made of logs like a cabin. It didn't look like anything Tony Stark would own, but perhaps that in itself was a good deterrent of unwanted visitors.

Naturally it opened up at voice recognition, allowing them both inside. It was fairly modern on the inside, the walls ranging from cream to sandy brown as they entered. It definitely wasn't a log cabin on the inside, but it also wasn't as high tech as the tower. Moving over to a corner, the back of the IronMan suit opened and Tony simply stepped out, watching it close back up. "I think I have food.." he trailed off, trudging through the foyer and into a kitchen full of sleek granite counter tops and shiny silver appliances and then stopping abruptly.

The house was nice, a lot more comfortable than Bruce had anticipated. It's not that the Stark tower wasn't comfy, but sometimes the modernness of it all made him crave for something simpler. This place seemed to have a nice balance to it. _'This is definitely going to be the nicest place I've ever lived in on the run,'_ he thought absently.

When he heard Tony's voice trail off he was confused, and was about to ask why when he saw what the billionaire was looking at. There were a handful of Ross' soldiers standing in front of them, all guns trained on himself.


	5. Wanted Dead or Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some violence in this chapter, but no excessive gore.

Bruce stood completely still, so as not to aggravate any of their itchy fingers.

Tony's voice echoed in his head, _"Only Pepper knows about it_ ," and his heart sank in his chest. There was only one way that Ross could have known they were coming here, and that's if they'd gotten to Pepper first. They must've already gotten the intel long before they had come to the tower, anticipating where they would run to. _'Smart,_ ' Bruce thought, _'get us off of American soil and away from the general populace before taking us out.'_ They must've been tracked here since they landed.

Tony swore and cursed himself in his head. Why had he been so predictable? Of course they would know about his house! He had made an impulsive move as usual and as a result someone would get hurt.

"Ross!" He snapped, moving to stand in front of Bruce. "Get the fuck out of my house. You're not taking Bruce," he growled. It was clear he meant business, and he would use himself as a shield before they got to Bruce. 

One of the monitors on the wall in front of them flickered on, revealing Ross' toothy grin. _He wasn't really here,_ Bruce reasoned. _How could he be? Stark's jet must've been faster than anything the military had access to, now that Tony wasn't supplying them weapons or tech anymore. He must've sent a group of handpicked soldiers ahead to catch us off guard, while he stayed behind with the rest of the Hulkbuster unit so we wouldn't be suspicious._ Ross had definitely learned from his mistakes over the years.

The Other Guy was wreaking havoc is his mind, seeing Ross' ugly face in front of them, and he could feel a bead of sweat run down his temple as he struggled for control. If he could just hold on long enough for Tony to get his suit back on... He looked at Tony, knowing that he would understand, and hoped that he could hold out long enough without getting shot first. 

Tony started inching toward his suit, that is, until about thirty safeties were clicked off guns. "Really? You would kill one of the most famous men on earth? How do you explain that one?" He asked incredulously.

The General's smile was enough information in itself. "I don't have to. The people will hear a tragic story, about how the beast turned on IronMan and ripped him apart. We couldn't save him in time," Ross cackled. So much for stalling.

"Hey uh, Bruce. If you code green.. Let me know," Tony said, and it was the only warning he gave before summoning his suit. The pieces flew at him and assembled in a blur as the soldiers opened fire. 

If the sound of gunfire itself wasn't enough to make him Hulk-out, the bullet that pierced his shoulder certainly was. He only had enough time to bring his fingers to the wound before he felt his body start to convulse, sickly and green. He dropped to his knees, his bones searing and his head pounding in agony.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the suit fully encompass Tony, and he stopped fighting the raging presence in his mind, knowing that Tony would be able to get out of harms way. He by no means was able to control the transformation, despite what Tony thought, but he was able to plant an idea into the Other Guy's feeble mind before he sunk completely under the monster's weight, which sort of helped to point him in the right direction.

He was lost in agony, all too aware of the guttural, animalistic noises that escaped from his throat. It had been too long since he'd let the big guy come out, and it made the transformation all that much more painful.

 _Sir, you are bl-_  
"Not now Jarv," Tony winced, lunging into the mass of soldiers. If he killed anyone he would be seen as a criminal, plus these men had no choice. "Flares!" He barked, blinding soldiers as the bright lights shot out of dispensers on his hips.

He sent out a left hook to one, kicking another as he tried to fight them back. He avoided using his guns or repulsors, knowing that behind him the Jolly Green Giant was about to make an appearance.

Clothes ripping and a guttural roar were the last things that Bruce was conscience of before the beast took over. The roar itself shattered many of the windows and glass appliances in the house. Soldiers dropped to their knees, holding their heads in their hands.

Hulk saw the soldier's all too familiar black and green uniforms, and he went into a blind rage, paying the billionaire next to him no mind as he charged ahead, grabbing soldiers by their limbs and throwing them haphazardly to the side, as if they were ragdolls. His massive fists hit the ground, creating large depressions in the dark wood, as he released another wail, which was loud enough to crack the plasma screen, causing Ross' face to distort until it finally went black.

Nearly all the soldiers were incapacitated, either by busted ear drums, broken bones and other various internal organs, or blinded by flares. But the Hulk wasn't finished. He snarled, jumping up (in the process creating his very own skylight) and escaped into the tropical forest around them. Flocks of birds flew startled from the line of broken trees that the Hulk raged through, flew from the line of destruction that he caused. 

Tony didn't care about the house, he was concerned that Bruce would feel guilty about the dead soldiers. Hulk may not have had a conscience but Bruce did. That, and the green giant was currently rampaging through the forest. Flying up through the hole, Tony quickly shot after the Hulk and slowed as he approached. 

"Hey, big guy! Take it easy! They're all gone now," he called, making no move to get in his way but instead flying along beside him. There was a chance that the giant would recognize him from New York. There was also a chance that he wouldn't care and try to rip him in two.

The Hulk continued to smash through various trees around him, sometimes focusing in on one free in particular, and reducing it to splinters, before moving along. And he would've flicked away the bothersome, shiny metal thing flying by him, if the sight of it hadn't cause something to tickle the back of his head. He stopped, squinting at the red and gold metal, gears slowly trying to clunk together and remember where he'd seen him before.

"Tin Man?" he grunted, an expression of utter confusion on his face. He looked like a massive, green gorilla that had just realized that someone had replaced the food in his hand with a stick, which was oddly hilarious despite the fact that the Hulk could rip someone to shreds with but a flick of his wrist. He dropped the small banana tree he'd been holding to get a better look at the suit, reaching out as if to pick up the metal with his hands and "examine" it.

Tony ducked and dodged to avoid getting clobbered with trees, stopping and hovering in middair as the Hulk did. Apparently someone upstairs liked him, because Mean and Green didn't use him as a tooth pick.

"Yeah, it's me. Uh.. Tin man. I'm here to help you," he promised, eyes widening as two large hands reached for him. He knew better than to move or block it though, so he allowed the large fists to pull him out of the air. He turned his jets off too, just so that he didn't burn the big guy.

Sliding his face plate up, Tony grinned at the Hulk. "Hey buddy. You didn't think I'd leave you all alone, did you?"

Hulk tried to be somewhat careful while holding it, if for nothing else because he was getting a bit tired and the thing hadn't shot at him yet. When Tony moved his face plate, he jumped a bit, startled to see a man inside the suit.

His thick eyebrows stitched themselves together, not understanding why the tickling in the back of his head refused to stop. He brought a hand to his head, leaving Tony alone for the moment, while he grunted, "Stop it!" seemingly into thin air.

The Other Guy punched the a nearby tree in frustration as the tingling intensified. He turned to Tony, rage and irritation present on his face. "Tin Man, make it STOP!" he snarled.

He didn't realize it was Banner deep inside him causing it, as the only time Banner ever spoke was after either an intense battle when the beast was drained, or after weeks of the Other Guy being control, having had to save his strength and manifest himself to the beast as a voice, rather than just an itch he couldn't scratch. He growled, thrashing his arms around, as if destroying foliage would help ease the presence from his mind.

Tony was relieved when the Hulk didn't crush him like a soda can. He nearly fell flat on his back when in turn the big guy let go, but luckily his reverse thrusters kicked into action just in time and he could float back up into the air.

"Stop what?" He asked warily, not understanding. He only had a moment's notice before he had to duck, avoiding beheading by the way of a tree projectile. This was dangerous territory, the Hulk being mad and all. "Bruce..?" He asked hesitantly, making the connection. The doctor must have been in there, trying to get control again. "It's going to be alright big guy," he said uneasily, unsure of what to say. His side was starting to ache more than unpleasantly, and he could feel blood trickling in his suit. Maybe it was more than a graze.. 

Hulk reared his head at the mention of Bruce's name, momentarily stopping his chaotic rampage. 

"Know Banner?" he grunted. Nearly everyone who knew Banner wanted both him and the Other Guy dead, yet so far the man in the red and gold suit hasn't tried anything.

A flash of something, almost too quick for him to see, flickered from the depths of his mind. It was the metal man, his face lit up with laughter, another of him sprawled across a lab table, having passed out from exhaustion all from Banner's eyes. Another memory flickered in his head, although this one his own, of the metal man falling from the sky, then in his arms before he threw him to the ground.

"Friend of Banner?" he asked, catching on a little that he wasn't really a threat.

Tony landed, finally grasping how tall the Hulk actually was. The abrupt stop was unsettling, but he didn't run away, nor did he power up any defenses. He trusted him, and he trusted Bruce.

"Yes, I know Bruce," he said slowly, making no sudden movements. It was like getting familiar with a new dog. Seeing his chance, he took it. "Yes! Yes, Banner and I are friends. Buddies. Science Bros. I'm trying to help you guys get away from Ross," he tried to explain, pointing back towards the little cabin.

Predictably, Hulk snarled at the mention of Ross' name, looking around and roaring into the air as if to try and frighten the general away. When he realized no one was there but Tony, he settled back down. He towered over the other man, putting two and two together when he saw Tony's enthusiasm when he spoke of Bruce. 

"Tin Man wants Banner back..?" he asked solemnly. It seemed like no one ever wanted him. Despite the fact that everyone assumed him to be some mindless beast who could only feel blind rage, the Hulk was actually able to feel and think, if only on a limited spectrum. Everyone blamed him for everything, and despised his very existence, especially Banner.

But this man seemed different. He didn't seem to want him to leave. But he asked anyway, considering that they always wanted Banner over him, unless they wanted something smashed (which he loved, but stil...). He was just the monster to them.

Tony probably should have been a bit more alarmed when the Hulk freaked out again, but honestly, he was impulsive enough not to care. He wasn't hurting anything, and he had every right to be wary of Ross. 

"Only if you want to go big guy. I don't mind you staying out- you earned some time to run around," he replied, looking up at the Hulk. Fearless? Or stupid? He wasn't sure anymore. Like he had told Bruce countless times, he wasn't afraid of the Other Guy. 

Hulk grinned, like a child who just found out he was getting all his presents on his Christmas list. "No one ever want Hulk to stay! Hulk like Tin Man."

They spent the next few hours pretty much destroying the East side of the island, both of them taking turns destroying the variety of foliage growing around them. Sometimes Hulk would throw trees and Tin Man would blast them, creating pretty blue sparks from his hands or his chest, and sometimes Hulk would just smash while Tin Man watched. Either way, he was enjoying having free reign for once, and after a while, the rain stopped pouring, which made him even happier. He hated thunder.

He was completely worn out by the time the sun began to set. "Tin Man play with Hulk again?" he asked waringly, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand not unlike a toddler (which was about as weirdly adorable as it sounded). 

Tony didn't mind playing with the Hulk. Really, he was like a big, cuddly, rip-your-arms-off cat. He felt like the one person who truly knew that the big guy was completely misunderstood, and that he didn't just hurt people willy nilly. However, doing so had taken its toll on him. Whatever was bleeding hadn't stopped, and he was feeling remarkably light-headed- not the good kind, either.

Stumbling as he landed for the billionth time, his back hit a tree and he slid down, his vision dotting black and white.

"Yeah.. big guy.. sure," he wheezed, slumping against the trunk. At some point he passed out; it was really hard to tell with all the bees buzzing in his head. 

"Tin Man?" he asked in concern. When he received no reply, Hulk's eyes widened in alarm. He poked a finger at the still form, causing an unconscious groan to escape from his lips. Without hesitation, he gave Bruce control back, knowing that Banner would be able to help his friend more than he could. Banner had always been smarter.

It only took a few seconds to change back, for which Bruce would've been grateful, if it hadn't been for the wave of exhaustion that washed over him, making him collapse on the soil below. He moaned, blinking his eyes open again as every muscle screamed in pain. What the hell had the Other Guy been doing? he thought.

His head was swimming but he turned his head to look at the form beside him, his heart jumping into his throat. He started to yell his name, but the only thing that came out was a mangled whisper. He blinked through the daze, pushing his exhaustion aside as he dragged himself over to Tony. After clearing his throat a few times, he finally managed to croak out, 

"JARVIS, give me...Tony's vitals, and open his suit so I can see..."

_Certainly sir.,_ Jarvis responded. The suit simply fell off of the man's body in pieces, scattering around him and making it look as though he had crash landed where he lay. Tony seemed otherwise uninjured, but there was a gash in his right side where a bullet had managed to ping him while his suit was assembling around him. After all, it couldn't protect him very well when it was all over the place.

_Heart rate currently at 70 BPM and dropping. Sensors indicate a large amount of blood has been lost- estimated time of death: one hour. Doctor Banner, I advise that you hurry._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha ha ha slow build what is that. 
> 
> I know it seems like things are rushed, but this is just the beginning. No better way to bond than saving your friend's life I guess. Thank you to everyone following this piece! I love feedback!


	6. Staying Alive

Bruce took a deep breath to calm himself down, this time to ease his worry, for once not fearful that the Other Guy might come out. He looked at the plants and wildlife around him, looking for something, anything, he could use. He could barely recognize anything, having never been to this part of the world before now. And he was in no condition to try and find clean water...

"JARVIS," he breathed heavily, "do you think you would get us both back to the cabin without major damage to Tony's injuries? I need medical supplies..." his voice trailed off, but he fought unconsciousness. Tony needed him right now. 

For an answer, the pieces of the suit moved and shifted away from both Tony and Bruce, assembling together so that the IronMan suit stood before them completely put together. Then it turned its head and looked down at them, alive sans one engineer. 

_The Mark 42 was upgraded for specifically this purpose- I will be piloting for now. I can carry you both_ , Jarvis assured him. The suit bent over and slid his arms under Tony, who moaned feebly in protest as it jarred him. Lifting the man into a bridal carry, the robot looked expectantly at Doctor Banner. _Please, hold on tight. I would rather not drop you._ Bruce caught the hint and wound his arms around the metal suit, willing himself to hold on tightly. As soon as he grabbed on, the suit took off and flew them up at a fairly steady pace, and in less than five minutes they were descending in the cabin. The bodies lingered, though Jarvis paid them no mind as he laid Tony on a couch. Apparently they'd either decimated all of the troops, or had scared them off. The pair of men had no where else to go, unfortunately. 

_At your service, sir._

Bruce's feeble body wobbled, and he leaned heavily on the suit for support before his head stopped spinning. "Alright, I need clean water, lots of it, some sort of cloth, some scissors, a pair of tweezers, a butterfly bandage, gauze, and some rubbing alcohol, if we have any."

 _Right away, Sir,_ the AI replied, leaving to fetch the needed supplies. I was weird seeing JARVIS with a body, but he pushed that thought away. He pulled up a chair next to where Tony lay on the couch, breathing labored and eyes working to close themselves. He didn't even register the bodies of the soldiers around him, too exhausted and worried to really care. He knew he'd be consumed with soul eating guilt later, but he pushed those thoughts away, too.

JARVIS returned a few minutes later with the supplies, and he set to work. Infection was going to be a major problem, but it wouldn't mean anything if he didn't stop the bleeding first. He used the scissors to cut away the bloody and sweaty material of Tony's t-shirt, revealing the wound. It wasn't that deep, but was near a nerve, so the pain must've been excruciating. The doctor looked for an exit wound, having to lift Tony slightly, which caused him to moan deeply, but he couldn't find one. _That means I'll have to dig it out..._ he thought wearily. He reached in the tweezers, wishing he had some anesthetic to give him, and pulled out the cursed metal. It was hard to ignore the unconscious jerks Tony's body gave when he did something particularly painful.

Bruce repeatedly trickled water in the wound, trying to ignore Tony as he flinched at the water's coolness, until it was completely rinsed clean. He dabbed the alcohol on a cloth, and gently wiped it over the wound, careful not to press too hard, to help reduce any risk of infection. He decided that he didn't want to use a suture to close it, thinking it best to let it drain of any infectious materials, while using a butterfly bandage to keep the gash somewhat closed, and covering it with a clean dressing to keep.

After he was done, he asked JARVIS to see if there were any painkillers around the house. When the AI left, he leaned back in the chair, on the brink of utter exhaustion. He desperately needed sleep, but fought to cling on to consciousness just a bit longer, for Tony's sake. 

The AI returned a minute later with a bottle of prescription painkillers. 

_I apologize that I have nothing intravenous to offer, but Sir has never needed anything like morphine in this house before. He will simply have to take them when he wakes up._ Though, there was no telling when that would happen- he'd lost a lot of blood. The robot suit stood at the end of the couch, regarding the two men in silence. Finally Jarvis suggested, _You should sleep as well, Doctor Banner. I will rouse you if anything happens, as I do not need sleep._ Neither of them were in good condition, though he was reading slightly better vitals from Tony, which was good. He would not be happy if his creator were to perish.

 _In the meantime, I believe I may tidy up a bit,_ he added, mostly to himself. Ironically he was a stickler for cleanliness, perhaps thanks to Tony's lack of initiative to clean anything himself, so without another word he began dragging bodies outside, leaving them in a small hole. Next he began scrubbing blood away, which was a funny sight- the Iron Man suit bent over cleaning. 

Bruce nodded to the AI thankfully, and he stepped over to the other side of the living space to the loveseat. He collapsed there, muscles crying in sweet relief, unable to get up even if he wanted to, and let the iron weight of his eyelids fall. He immediately fell into the clutches of sleep, his last thought thinking of how lucky they were to have JARVIS by their sides.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was roughly eight hours later that Tony finally cracked his eyes open. His side hurt like a bitch, he was hungry, thirsty, and just all around achy.

"God.. what the hell happened?" He moaned, mostly to himself. His brown eyes circled the room, coming to rest on the sleeping form of Bruce. Then everything came back- the gunshot wound, the Hulk, passing out in the forest. Reaching down, he felt a bandage on his side and had to bite back a scream as the mere feather soft touch sent bolts of pain through him. When a robotic hand offered him pills and a glass of water he downed them, regardless of his aversion to being handed things, and then finished the glass of water. "Jarv?" He croaked questioningly.

 _Seven hours and forty nine minutes, sir_ , the AI responded automatically, for it was common question of Tony's to know how long he had been unconscious. Luckily he had no nightmares this time- in fact, no dreams at all. Just the kind of unconsciousness associated with a painful wound. Idly he considered blacking out again, his eyelids fluttering. God damn it hurt. 

Bruce slept for a lot longer than he expected. He blinked the morning light from his eyes, his body still sore from when the Other Guy came out to play. He groaned and sat up, noticing that there were a fresh pair of pants lying on top of him. His lack of clothing last night had never even crossed his mind, what with all of the drama, and apparently, he'd just passed out without covering himself in the slightest! _Great job, Bruce..._ he thought, a deep blush spreading along his cheeks as he hurriedly slipped on the dark grey sweats.

He looked around the room, remembering Tony on the couch across from him. The place was totalled, anything resembling glass having been cracked or just plain shattered. There were massive holes in the ground where it looked like several bodies had collided with the floor, and there was another on the ceiling, although the room overall looked much cleaner than it did before he'd fallen asleep. _JARVIS must've cleaned the place up while Tony and I slept..._

His brain suddenly seemed to kick in, making any lingering drowsiness vanish. The holes in the floor... His heart sank, and he placed his head in his hands, guilt and anguish already washing over him as he remembered Ross' soldiers. 

"Brucey?" Tony forced himself not to sink into unconsciousness again, at least, not yet. He could see the wreckage around them, and while such a thing didn't bother him, he knew it would upset his companion. Probably not even the mess, but the dead. They weren't laying around any more, so he assumed Jarvis had cleaned up as best he could. However, he didn't doubt that the scientist was beating himself up about it.

Turning his head, he could just make out the hunched form of his friend on the loveseat. He shifted, ignoring the pain that screamed up his side -when would these damn pills kick in?- and adjusted so that he was facing the man.

"Bruce, it's okay," Tony said in what he hoped was a comforting tone. He wasn't really accustomed to comforting people, but he knew his friend needed it now more than ever. "Those men knew what they signed up for. They would have just as easily killed you- and hey, now there's less people chasing us," he pointed out, wondering if he should get up and try to comfort him. The ache in his side suggested that this would be a bad idea.

Bruce lifted his head to look at his friend, who must've already been awake for a while, judging by the look of him. He looked exhausted and in pain, which was to be expected, although not necessarily easier to look at. He sighed deeply, not irritated at Tony, but with the whole situation they were in. Of course he knew that these men chose to do this, and that he had probably saved Tony's life by releasing the Other Guy, more or less. The bastards had shot at them! If it wasn't for Bruce, Tony would be dead right now! Of course, if he'd never stepped into Tony's life in the first place, he would've never been placed in this situation to begin with. No, Bruce, don't think like that. _You can't change what happened..._ None of this made this feeling of crushing guilt any easier to bear; their blood was still on his hands.

"Yeah, I suppose that's true," he agreed glumly, more to make Tony feel better than himself. He ran his hand along the thin layer of stubble he'd produced in his sleep, feeling drained once again, more emotionally than anything else. He rose slowly, his muscles whining in protest, and walked over to Tony's side. "How are you feeling?" 

Tony continued to stare at Bruce, and it was obvious by the defeat in his stance and the way his shoulders sagged that he wasn't forgiving himself. It wasn't the guy's fault- really, they opened fire first, not Bruce. If anything, they should feel bad. Or at least, he had nothing to be upset about. It wasn't surprising that Bruce didn't feel this way, though.

"Like hell," he replied, letting his head flop back down on the pillow. "I guess they managed to hit me- lucky shot. I'm calling foul play; if anyone asks it was heroic," he rambled on his smarmy fashion, offering the man a slight smile. For a moment after that, the two men sat in silence. They could go on and on about how bad they both felt, but that wouldn't accomplish anything. Then the engineer remembered something and grinned.

"Bruce. I played with him." He let that sink in, studying the man's face for any change. "I told him he could stay out and.. well, I played with him. Mean and Green loves to smash stuff, by the way. Really, it's kinda cute. He didn't hurt anyone." Tony still found it incredibly amusing that the two of them had gotten on so well by just destroying part of the island. 

Bruce stared at the injured man, not quite knowing what to say. Did Tony say he had played with him? Like a little kid? And he thought it was CUTE?! _I swear, only Tony Stark..._

He could feel the shock on his face, but didn't try and hide it, instead choosing to just try and digest the information slowly. He searched through what few of his muddled memories he possessed from when he had changed. He couldn't remember much, but he could see flickers of red and gold, and the feeling of happiness (?). Since when was the Other Guy ever happy? He decided let the memory float away, knowing that he wouldn't get very far with it anyway, and turned to examine Tony's wound.

"Well I guess that explains why I woke up so damn tired," he joked, mostly for Tony's sake, in order to distract him a bit while he gently lifted the bandage. Blood had bled almost completely through, but as far as he could tell it didn't look infected, although that could change very quickly out here in the wilderness (well, more or less).

It wasn't like they could check into any hospitals here, since Tony's face would be pretty much everywhere within the first few hours after they checked in. Costa Rica was such a tourist trap, there were bound to be paparazzi around every other corner, ready to snag a good picture of some poor woman's breast slipping from her bikini.

Meaning they were pretty much on their own until they could leave the country for somewhere safer, where Ross wouldn't be able to track them down. But they couldn't go anywhere until Tony got better, so that would be their main focus until then. He re-cleaned the wound with rubbing alcohol, and redressed it with clean bandages that JARVIS had been kind enough to set out for them. 

Tony chuckled again at the comment, gasping and wincing as Bruce peeled the bandage away. He tried to focus on the emotions on Bruce's face, thinking to himself about how funny his shock was, but nothing could penetrate the wall of holyfuckthathurtslikeabitch. He couldn't help but flinch and squirm, crying out as alcohol was used on raw flesh. By the end of it his eyelids were fluttering dangerously and- ah, nope, no more staying awake. Too painful. See you in a few hours Bruce, okay? Can you hear me? Oh well. He blacked out again. 

Bruce realized that Tony was about to pass out from the pain, but there was nothing to do to stop it. He felt the billionaire's body relax beneath him, and he sighed. He wished he could do more, the doctor in him making him feel awful that his patient was without suitable pain meds.

"JARVIS?" he asked, not knowing if the AI had connected itself to the house, or if he was still animating the Iron Man armor. It turned out to be the former, as the British tone replied from the ceiling, 

_How can I help you, Doctor Banner? ___

__"Is there anyway of obtaining morphine, or even vicodin out here? This is... well- it's barbaric to leave Tony in this much pain..." he asked._ _

___Yes, sir, I have already taken it upon myself to do so. 100 mg of vicodin and 20 ccs of morphine should be delivered from a local hospital to a small shop in town, where it can be picked up tomorrow_ , the AI replied._ _

__Bruce was relieved at this news, knowing that Tony wouldn't have to suffer for weeks while his wound healed. He'd just have to hold on for one more day._ _


	7. You Moron

This time only about three hours went by before the billionaire cracked his eyes open. The constant passing out was at least getting him some rest, and he didn't have to deal with nightmares that way, but still. Tony groaned slightly, shutting his eyes again while he tried to come fully conscious. The medicine was helping a little, but it didn't do as well as something prescription might.

"Bruce?" He asked, wondering if the man was still in the room. He cracked his eyes open again, looking around for the scientist. He felt so helpless, it was killing him.

 _Sir, Master Stark is awake and asking for you,_ JARVIS said, his voice ringing over the sizzling of the frying pan. Bruce immediately stopped, turning off the burners in the kitchen and leaving his food where it was to go check up on Tony. He was starved (the transformation tended to do that to a person), but Tony's issues were more important at the moment. He walked back into the living area, where he'd decided to leave Tony until he asked to be moved anywhere else.

"Yes, sunshine?" he mocked lightly. 

Tony was afraid for a terrible moment- silly as it was. He was afraid that Bruce had run away, had left him all alone to deal with this and more importantly had abandoned him. He needn't have worried. Bruce entered, and relief washed over him. Moreso when he cracked a joke, making his lips quiver in a sort of smile.

"Oh nothing. Just wanted to see if you were around," Tony said smoothly, craning his neck. He could smell something cooking in the other room, but he was in no way hungry. The wound was too close to his stomach for that- in fact the mere smell nauseated him. Needing food and wanting it were two different things. "I'm fine. You better go finish whatever you're cooking before you burn this place down, though." Bruce smirked. 

"Nah, JARVIS is watching it, and I turned the burners off," he replied. "Some of us know how to cook." He was in a better mood than before, for which he couldn't really explain, but he'd decided not to question it. At seeing the green tint to Tony's face, he worried a bit. "Is the smell making you nauseous?" he asked, the answer dawning on him as he looked at Tony's wound and smelled the stir-fry from the adjacent room.

He held up a finger to Tony, indicating that he'd be right back, and he left to search for what he needed. A moment later he smiled in triumph, a bottle of Kaopectate (which helped relieve nausea) in hand. He came back into the room and gave Tony 2 pills, setting the bottle aside.

Bruce helped Tony swallow some water, doing so in a very non-condescending way. Tony was a prideful SOB, which no doubt made this situation that much harder for him. Right now, he was just a doctor taking care of his patient. "I think I'm going to try and scrounge up some ginger root for some tea," he told him absently. "It'll help soothe your stomach, and it'll be good to get something other than pills into your system..." 

Tony could only nod at the question; he was afraid he would vomit if he opened his mouth. After taking the pills however, he did start to feel a little better. At least, there was no impending doom of up-chuck.

"Yeah, sure Bruce," Tony said with a nod, though he didn't normally drink tea. He knew he needed something, and that would have to do if he refused to eat. "Yeah, but you should eat first. You're no use to me dead," he joked, but there was real concern in it. Bruce needed to take care of himself too.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," the doctor said unconvincingly, his stomach betraying him by choosing that moment to grumble loudly. He sighed. "Okay, you might have a point..." He stood, looking at Tony. "Just tell me if you need anything, okay. You tell me any symptoms you're having, don't leave anything out! Not kidding, it's important," he chided him. Tony almost never listened, especially when it came to his health.

"I'll be back in a bit." He left the man lying on the couch, beginning to cook the massive amount of food without delay. He really was starving, and he could begin to feel the weakness of having waited too long to eat properly.

When it was ready, Bruce didn't hesitate. He ate hastily, knowing that the speed in which he ate wouldn't really affect him that much, having been cautious when the transformations first happened. With the Other Guy's metabolism helping him out, the only real danger was him choking on a noodle or something equally ridiculous. He left a small portion for Tony if he decided he was up to eat in the next few hours, and packaged away the portion in a plastic tupperware container. 

"Yes mother," Tony huffed, watching him leave with a slight smile. Where would he be without his good doctor? Settling down, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a StarkPhone. He had disabled Internet so it couldn't be tracked, but he had a lot of schematics he had been itching to write down. After all, his mind was almost never idle.

After a little while, when he couldn't possibly do any more without his lab, he set aside the piece of technology. His body was more restless than his mind though, and against his better judgement he swung his legs slowly over the side of the couch. Gradually, with a lot of pain and swearing, he got to his feet. The dizziness hit him like a wave, but he was stubborn, and with the use of the wall he hobbled into the kitchen.

"Hey," he greeted, his face pale and drawn as he stumbled and caught himself on the counter. 

Bruce had just about finished cleaning up the mess he'd made in the kitchen when Tony hobbled in.

"WHAT THE HELL, TONY?!" he yelled, dropping the soapy sponge from his hand. He ran quickly over to him, Tony's face covered in a thick sheen of sweat, and helped keep him upright while he dragged his butt to the chair and forced him down, ignoring his protests.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack and kill yourself in the process?!" He accused, pacing a bit as he threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "You really gonna leave JARVIS all alone in the world, because you sure act like you want to! Honestly, Tony!" He rubbed his brow in frustration, turning to look away from the other man's pale features. 

Tony eventually gave up his protests and allowed Bruce to help him over to a chair, panting and grimacing as he sank into it, boneless. He was starting to get the feeling that it was a bad idea when Bruce starting chewing him out; really he was only half listening. His head lolling to the side slightly, he offered the man a pained grin. 

"Sorry. Couldn't sit still. Bad idea," he said, slowly regaining some color. "Although I did almost die once. That's sorta why I made Pepper CEO. Forgive me, Bruce?" He rambled, either delusional or tired or both. He was known for making rash decisions, so it was no surprise he had come in here.

Bruce sighed, feeling a little guilty at yelling at him when he was obviously in agony. Those pills JARVIS had found might've been expired, considering the horrible job they've been doing. If they were going to work, they definitely have had enough time to do so.

"It's fine, you just scared me... But please don't do it again! I don't want to get up to find you bleeding out on the floor..." he breathed. His mention of his near death experience made Bruce flinch a bit, remembering the articles he'd read on Tony's kidnapping and torture in Afghanistan. Tony never talked about it, for which he didn't blame him, and he knew that the memories still haunted him. He knew what the nightmares were about.

"Listen, JARVIS ordered you some better pain meds, and I'm going to pick them up tomorrow. You think you can manage one more day without killing yourself?" He could tell that the pain was getting to Tony, and it killed him that he had to sit on his hands. He used the thought of Tony on morphine to help comfort him, knowing that if he put him on enough, that he wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. 

Tony nodded slowly, inhaling and exhaling heavily through his nose. Okay, so maybe he shouldn't have done it. Obviously he was stressing Bruce out, which made guilt coil in his stomach. He shouldn't be making this more difficult for the doctor, and resolved to try and be a little more compliant.

"I won't. I'm sorry," he apologized, his gaze downcast for a moment. Contrary to Bruce's belief, he wasn't talking about Afghanistan. Sure he had almost died, but that wasn't when he thought he was dying. The palladium poisoning in his chest had been it for him, his final chapter. He came close to giving up, though the nightmares were about Afghanistan and New York. He shuddered involuntarily.

"I'll try, but you owe me," he joked lamely, reaching up with the arm on his good side to mop his brow. "Do you think you could help me back to the couch? I kinda want to lay down now," he said sheepishly, his gaze flitting to the side.

Bruce gave Tony a little half-smile at his sheepishness, as seeing anything resembling the emotion on Tony's face was something to behold.

"Sure, although I think a bed might be more comfortable than the couch." He helped Tony rise from the chair and guide him to one of the many bedrooms (the one closest to the kitchen, to be exact), ready to stop if Tony needed to catch his breath. Finally after about 10 minutes, they made it, and the billionaire fell unceremoniously into the soft mattress. "There, much more comfy, huh?" he joked, which he figured was the best medicine for Tony at this point.

It tore him up to think that Tony was going through so much pain because of him. He could've just gone by himself, and Tony would've been safe and sound at the tower. But, the more that he thought about it, the more selfishly liked the idea of not being alone.

Tony had to lean heavily on Bruce, willing himself not to pass out. The movement caused him to bleed more heavily, and it made him extremely out of breath. A little gasp escaped him as he hit the mattress, then he groaned and all but sank into it. Egyptian cotton, nice.

"Fuck Bruce, I don't think I'm gonna last much longer," he ground out, his vision spotting as he stared at the ceiling. It was obviously bad if he didn't rise to the bait of a joke and respond with his own. However, before the man could leave he reached out and caught his arm. "Bruce? Thank you," he said sincerely, though after a few moments his grip on the man's arm went slack and his eyes fluttered shut.

Bruce felt Tony's grip fall slack from its grasp on his arm.

"Tony?!" he yelled, desperation bleeding into his voice, much like the blood running from Tony's wound. He held his ear above the billionaire's lips, trying in vain to hear the sound of breath leaving his lungs. His pulse was fluttery and weak, barely there anymore. Bruce swallowed down his panic, quieting the growling voice in his mind. "JARVIS! I need something to shock him awake: an exposed wire, a taser, a repulsor, something! I need to get his heart rate regulated!" he shouted. He knew that the AI could hear him, but he didn't care. It was hard enough trying to form enough rational thought to even ask the machine!

Tony was unresponsive to Bruce's calls, his breath growing more shallow each time the beat of his heart slowed. The arc reactor flickered warningly- time was of the essence.

 _The bedside lamp should suffice. Remove the bulb and you will see a small plastic plate- pull that off, and there will be two wires underneath. They should serve as a sufficient shock without killing him, however you must hurry,_ Jarvis replied quickly. A small hologram opened up above Tony, courtesy of the AI, displaying his vitals. He had already lost a lot of blood, and the continuous loss of it was just making it easier to die. 

Bruce did as the AI instructed, removing the top of the lamp and carefully gripping the exposed wires. He hovered over Tony, hesitating at the flickering arc reactor, before finding the appropriate points in which to place the wires, before making contact between copper and Tony's pale skin. He could feel the minute jolt of electricity run through the man's body, and he jumped a bit in fear of being hit by a spastic limb, which in reality he was in no danger of doing considering the size of the charge itself.

He could see a small crackle of energy along the rim of the arc reactor, its edge creating a small burn along his skin. _Please, Tony, don't leave me like this..._

For a scary moment, Tony was still after the shock. Then his eyes snapped open and he gasped, coughing and spluttering before he fell still.

"Goddamnitthattasteslikecoconuts," he rasped, his chest heaving as his gaze frantically flickered all over the place. When it finally settled on Bruce, he offered a weak smile. "Guess I broke the not dying promise. Sorry," he mumbled, tilting his head back and shutting his eyes. His vitals showed significantly better, apparently his heart rate having evened out. His chest hurt from being shocked, especially the burn around his reactor, but luckily it wasn't a charge strong enough to kill the reactor.

The few seconds after the shock, before Tony opened his eyes, nearly caused him to shut down completely. The thought that he might actually be dead made his heart squeeze painfully in his chest, and the presence in his mind all the more prominent. Apparently the Other Guy didn't like the idea of being without him either, he realized. When Tony woke, sputtering and in shock, a wave of relief washed over him, making him feel a bit weak, to be honest. A genuine grin bloomed on his face, glad beyond measure that the billionaire was okay.

He turned his attention to Tony's wound, which still was steadily flowing blood onto the bed spread. He grabbed a first-aid kit from the bathroom across the hall, taking a suture and thread, as well as a basin of water and a cloth. He set the supplies down without a word, and began to stitch up the wound. He'd wanted to keep it open in fear that infection would set in, but at this point he didn't care. He would not allow something like this to happen again. Tony would have to work much harder to cause this type of damage in the future.

Tony winced as his side was stitched shut, his back rigid and his fingers digging into the soft mattress. By the time Bruce had finished his face was coated in a sheen of sweat, but he didn't appear to be dying, at least. He was feeling faint though, and told his companion as much.

"I think I might pass out again," he warned, his tongue feeling almost too heavy to talk. He felt so grateful to the man, even though Bruce probably didn't owe him anything. It was his stupid idea to come to Costa Rica after all, if he had just picked somewhere else, this wouldn't have happened. He gave the doctor another slight smile, shutting his eyes and his whole body relaxing as he passed out again. This time though, there was no impending death, he was simply unconscious. He probably could've done with a blood transfusion, but he would just have to be okay without one. They didn't have a choice.

Bruce sighed. He was thankful that Tony was okay, and he was sort of glad that Tony had passed out, if he was being honest, since he could finally get some sort of rest. His body would be able to refill his supply of blood more safely while unconscious. This entire event had left Bruce exhausted, and he really didn't have it in him to cope with another of these near-death experiences. He threw the medical supplies in the first-aid kit left it by the bed for the next time he cleaned Tony's wounds, taking the basin of bloody water to the bathroom to dump its contents in the tub. Right now a shower seemed like a great idea.

He went to the next bedroom down the hall, the one closest to Tony's room, and shut the door behind him despite the fact that he knew no one would disturb him. He told JARVIS to monitor Tony's vitals and the surrounding area for soldiers, and proceeded to find a change of clothes before stepping into the shower, washing away the sweat, blood, and over-all grime that he'd accumulated over the past...2, 3 days? He honestly couldn't remember. It's not like they were exactly on a normal sleep schedule.

He turned off the water, quickly dressed himself, and walked into the large room. It had a queen sized mattress that took up most of the space, although he didn't mind all that much; it was certainly a lot more than he was used to having. He fell into the bed's soft cushions, and gave into the sleep that his body direly needed without protest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony has no self-preservation instincts.


	8. Morphine and Plans

Night turned into day, several hours having passed as the two men slept. Tony didn't wake as morning came round, though his vitals didn't seem to reflect any sort of coma. For lack of a better word, he was tired, and needed rest. His body kept him asleep and immobile while it tried to replace much needed blood, too heavily unconscious to have dreams at all, let alone nightmares. His brain activity was significantly lower than usual, but that could be chalked up to the deep sleep.

Jarvis had been monitoring the entire situation. Seeing as Tony was stable, he decided to finally wake Bruce after about nine hours of sleep. 

_Doctor Banner, the medicine has arrived in town,_ he alerted, giving him an address where he could pick it up. Bruce rolled over in his bed, rubbing his eye with this palm of his hand, and producing a light yawn.

"Thanks, J," he mumbled, this voice still thick with sleep. He threw the sheet away from him and got out of bed, knowing that if he were to wait any longer he would never get up; he was far too comfortable. It had been weeks since he'd been able to sleep at least somewhat decently. He looked in the closet, pulling out a pair of jeans and a soft, cotton-blend t-shirt. It's not like he'd had time to grab any of his clothes, and they were trying to lay low, so he would just have to wear some of Tony's clothes for now. It took him a minute or two to change, brush his teeth, and comb through his mess of tangled curls.

"How are Tony's vitals?" Bruce asked in the midst of getting ready. He'd figured that the AI would've told him if anything of significance had happened, but he felt the need to ask anyway. 

_Stable, sir. He hasn't dropped beyond the range of what is to be expected, nor has he woken since the previous night. I shall alert you if this changes while you are away,_ The AI replied helpfully. He was worried for his creator as well, and though he was simply an intelligence system, he did have the capacity to care about Tony. The man drove the computer crazy, if that was possible, but he was quite fond of him.

Bruce nodded. _Okay, Tony will be fine until I get back. I'll only be gone for an hour at the very most, and JARVIS had everything under control. He'd be fine..._ he thought as he walked into the kitchen. Despite the restful sleep he had, he was still pretty drowsy, and he walked to the small coffee maker to find that it was already filled with a fresh brew, courtesy of a certain AI. He poured himself a cup and quickly drank it, not wasting any time in getting to town. Tony could wake up any minute, and he needed those meds... He picked up a wad of cash from one of the kitchen drawers (really, Tony? You just leave your money lying around?) and left.

It only took him about 30 minutes to get into town via the car they'd taken from the airport, which had thankfully survived the action of their first day at the house. He stopped at the small shop, looking around to see only a handful of people around. It was still pretty early, and many of the tourists were still sleeping in their beach houses at this hour. He paid the grumbling shop clerk, and took the white prescription package gratefully. He also picked up another first-aid kit and some food with the left over money, before heading back to the house. 

Jarvis monitored the house and its only occupant for the moment while Bruce was gone. It was quite uneventful really- Tony's vitals were constant, getting gradually better if anything. Very gradually, but getting there. Anything was better than dying, even if it left him weak. While Bruce was away, the AI took it upon himself to start fixing the house. Ross was probably no where near them, considering he would assume they moved after the attack. By this estimation, they would be staying for a while. So, with the fully charged Iron Man suit as his vessel, Jarvis began working on fixing the roof. It would be terrible if there was a hole and it started to rain. 

It was a long quiet drive back, as there was no radio in the car, but Bruce didn't really mind the silence all that much, considering the crazy last few days they had. But it made him think of Tony, and how he wasn't there with him, but lying unconscious in his bed recovering from a near-death experience from only 9 or so hours ago. Why did their lives have to be so stressful...?

He rolled up to the house, smiling as he saw a red and gold reflection glitter in the morning light from atop the house. He took his two paper sacks inside, quickly putting everything away and then took the prescription into Tony's room, trying to stay quiet on the off-chance that Tony woke up. He filled a syringe with morphine, replacing the cap and placing it in the first aid kit for when he woke up, which was out of Tony's reach (he didn't need Stark trying to inject any substances into himself while Bruce wasn't looking), as well as putting two Vicodin tablets and a glass of water from the bathroom on the bedside table. Now all he had to do was wait... 

For a few minutes, it seemed like Bruce would be waiting a while. Then there was a giant thud on the roof, followed by a dim, _'Terribly sorry, slipped,'_ that was loud enough to wake Tony. He really, really wish it hadn't. His side felt like it was on fire, and his head was pounding- from dehydration maybe. He blinked several times, shifting his gaze towards Bruce. When he saw what the man had, he managed to mumble,

"I could kiss you right now." His mouth was really dry, but the need to stay right where he was far outweighed the urge to get a glass of water. He also really hated needles, like, really hated them, but he had no choice. He distracted himself by looking out the window, unable to watch himself being injected.

The thud from above broke the silence of the room and startled Bruce, making him jump. He looked down at Tony, now awake, and felt a pang of relief in his chest. He didn't wait to inject the morphine into him now that he was awake, picking it up from the first-aid kit and uncapping it with a faint pop.

He could see Tony's discomfort, and worked to make it as quick as possible, swiping an alcohol wipe across his skin and injecting the substance into his arm. It should only take a moment before it began to take affect. When he was in less pain, he would help Tony drink something, as he'd heard his parched airways when he'd spoken earlier.

Tony winced as the needle penetrated his skin, sternly telling himself that if he could handle the bullet, he could handle a needle. When it was done he turned his head back towards Bruce, feeling the warmth spread up his arm slowly. He always did have an appreciation for the speed of modern medicine. 

"Thanks," he managed, licking his lips in an attempt to wet them. He was lucky to have Bruce. And- what do you know? He was feeling numb already. The man visibly relaxed into the bed, releasing a small sigh as the pain left him. God bless morphine. 

Bruce smiled a bit, glad that the morphine was doing its job. Now maybe they could both relax a bit, well, Tony seemed to be doing just fine with that. Bruce mentally grimaced at the thought of having to deal with a doped-out Tony for the next few weeks. _This should be fun..._

He helped raise Tony's head, allowing him to drink some water, and later did the same thing with some chicken broth he'd picked up in town. It wasn't nearly as much as he wanted for him, but it was something. He thought about making some ginger root tea for the both of them, so that maybe he could get some solid food into Tony's system sometime today, but he figured that Tony wouldn't be awake for long enough to even try. Bruce looked at the monitors, seeing that Tony's vitals were still pretty low. Yeah, he'd be pretty weak for a while.

'Doped out' didn't quite cover it. Sure, Tony could handle drinking water and broth so long as his head was lifted, but some of the things he said made his title of genius questionable. It wasn't his fault, not really, just his personality multiplied and his IQ cut in half.

"Bruuuuuuce. Why is the Hulk green? I mean, why didn't he come out purple? Isn't that your favorite color?" He rambled, looking up at the doctor innocently as though this was a valid question. It was similar to him being drunk, except he wasn't crude. 

Bruce could tell that these next few weeks were going to try his patience more than anything had in a long time. He tried answering Tony's questions at first ("I don't know, Tony. I didn't exactly get a say in the Other Guy's color scheme..."), but after awhile he sort of gave up and just tried to ignore him until he passed out again. Hopefully he did pass out sometime soon, because his "patient" was really starting to grate on his nerves.

Tony huffed as he realized that Bruce was ignoring him. He was just being no fun at all. He was beginning to feel sleepy though, and half the conversations he thought he was having were just going on inside his head. He wasn't very lucid most of the time, though he did seem to grasp clarity long enough to smile at the doctor.

"Thanks doc. Just for this, I won't make you pay for my roof," he said, though a few minutes after that he was out like a light. Joking, he was joking of course. 

Bruce smiled, both at Tony's "joke" and at the fact that he finally went to sleep. He went into the kitchen, making himself some lunch, having skipped breakfast to hurry into town, and ate contently for a while, just thinking. He contemplated what their next move would be after Tony was well enough to travel, but so far couldn't come up with anything. He resolved to talk to Tony when he was a bit more lucid about the situation.

He wandered around for the rest of the day, not quite knowing what to do. He had no lab to work in, and he couldn't travel around the island trying to help people with Tony in his current condition. So he settled on trying to enjoy the scenery while he was here, maybe play a little tourist. He sat on the balcony that faced the south end of the island, where you could see a massive expanse of green. It would've been much more beautiful had it not been for the splintered trees and the gaping holes in the sea of green.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony spent most of his time unconscious, oblivious to the world as he healed. Every now and then he would wake, but it would be for a few minutes before he sank into unconsciousness once more. By the next day he was feeling a lot better, though he still slept heavily. It was partially because of the morphine he kept getting, and partially because he was too weak to do anything but sleep. It was about three days before he was ready to eat, and he was starving at this point. His mind still seemed a bit off thanks to the drugs, but he wasn't completely loopy anymore. 

"Hey, Bruce? Do you think I could eat something now?" He asked. If the doctor didn't think he was ready he would keep drinking broth, but..

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. You really need to eat something other than broth..." Bruce pulled up the bandage covering Tony's wound. It was healing pretty well, and it was in no danger of opening. "Any requests?" he asked.

Tony couldn't even feel it as the doctor checked under the bandages, so there was no flinching or swearing. Hm, actually, he had been craving something for a while.. God, he felt about as helpless as a pregnant woman. He made about as much sense as one, anyway.

"Well.. Do we have the stuff for a turkey sandwich? I've really been craving it.." He said sheepishly, glancing out the window.

"Uh, yeah, I think so. I'll go see what I can whip up..." he turned and left the room, making his way into the kitchen. He came back a few minutes later, said sandwiches in hand. He helped prop Tony up against some pillows so that he could eat, knowing that he had enough morphine to keep away the pain of any pulling stitches. He sat beside him while he ate, incase he needed anything else, his own sandwich in hand. He munched quietly, not really having anything to say.

Things had begun to feel a bit more routine over the past 3 days, and to be honest, he was a bit bored. At least in Calcutta he had some stimulation, had a job to keep his mind and hands occupied. Now, not so much. But he didn't mind. Tony getting better was all he cared about right now. 

Tony sat up without complaint, taking the sandwich eagerly and chowing down after a hasty thank you. It felt so good to have solid food again- fresh tomatoes, lettuce, turkey.. It took a lot of restraint not to moan. He did have the sense to slow down though, as too much food too fast would probably make him sick. 

"When do you think I'll be ready to travel?" He asked. He was starting to get stir crazy sitting around, enough that Bruce might have to start drugging him just to keep him sitting still. "I mean, we probably need to fly out of here. Somewhere more remote. Question is, where?"

"I think a few more days at the earliest before you go anywhere. We might me able to start walking around tomorrow, but I don't want to push it," he answered.

"I've been wondering about that too..." Bruce admitted. "I honestly don't know where we could go that Ross wouldn't find us, other than maybe some third-world country somewhere, but with your wound, I don't want to risk infection. We need somewhere with at least some access to medical supplies, that's unnoticeable enough for us to stay there undetected until..." Well, until what, Bruce? Ross would never stop chasing him down, and he didn't expect Tony to stay with him forever, so... He thought about it for a moment, but came up with nothing. 

Tony nodded with a small sigh. He was tired of sitting, and at the same time he was still tired. He wanted to move, but didn't think he could. It was terrible, and it really drove him nuts. He looked to the doctor expectantly when the man fell silent, raising an eyebrow. However, the silence gave him an idea. 

"Until we can clear your name," he finished the sentence, a glint in his eye that said he was up to no good. "You're a hero, Bruce. The people know that, all we need is followers. If we get people behind us, it'll be impossible for Ross to take you. In the meantime, you and I are about to become grade A attourneys. We'll get you out of this somehow." 

Bruce put on a guise of optimism for Tony's sake, made it appear as if he thought it might actually work. Of course he would try to clear his name, but the fact of the matter was, was that Ross had way too many supporters on his side, and almost everyone that had seen the Other Guy on the news was either terrified, confused, or completely unsure of him. Who was going to want to keep him in New York?

"Yeah, I guess we better come up with a plan then, huh? Put some of this down time to good use since you're awake," he said with a smile.

Tony knew when someone was lying. He was so good at it that he started recognizing it, and Bruce's smile was a fake one if he ever saw it. He wanted to convince him, tell him that everything would work out, but he wasn't sure how.

"Good idea. This might become a vigilante thing though. I have an idea, and before you freak, hear me out," he said carefully, sitting up straighter. "I think you should let the Hulk out more. Think about it: if he gets out say, every two weeks, he'll be less likely to force himself out. We can start in deserted areas, work on keeping him from destroying everything. If we can show the world a Hulk that doesn't smash everything and is halfway civilized, Ross won't have any hold in court. They'll force him to leave you alone," he said, looking extremely thoughtful. "Hulk trusts me. I trust him. I think he's willing to change if he gets to be out more. He deserves a little time to play." 

Bruce stared at him. When he tried to come up with something to say, his mind drew a blank. Finally after a moment he was able to process it, and come up with something that wasn't related to him checking Stark into a mental hospital for suggesting something so crazy.

"Tony, you do realize that you were hurt because you were trying to protect me from the military, right? If I Hulked out to 'play with you', that you would be putting yourself in the direct line of fire. Not only that, but Ross doesn't care about his public image- he does whatever he wants regardless of if he has permission. He's a lunatic! If people actually agree with him that I'm a menace, then that's just a plus!"

He didn't want to admit that the idea held some merit, since Tony would never let him hear the end of it. If he brought the Other Guy out more, sort of shared his body, he guessed, and they did it in a controlled environment, it might just keep him content enough that he wouldn't try and spring into action every time a certain scientist poked him with electrified sticks.

But no, this was too crazy. Ross would squash this idea like a bug the moment he caught wind of it, and he'd use footage of the Other Guy's rampage to help further his agenda.

Tony was stubborn. He was bullheaded and firm, and he'd be damned if he let Bruce's fears stop this. "Nope. No sir. You're not getting out of this one. I know I got hurt, but I knew what I was getting into. I still do. And if we can prove that you AND the Hulk aren't a menace, he'll get prosecuted for chasing you. This is our only option. You can't just run your whole life," he pointed out, refusing to give in.

"Look, if the Other Guy understands that we can make Ross go away and all he has to do is smash in private only, don't you think he'll give it a try? People love a hero. It'll work, I promise. We have to try."

Bruce sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to win this fight. And to be honest, the thought that Tony was going through all this, that he was so determined to help him, well...it was kinda touching. Only one other person had ever fought for him this much, that actually cared about him and the Other Guy. He could feel the presence in the back of his mind, which had sort of made a place for itself ever since Tony had started to talk about the Other Guy. Apparently he liked the idea. _Well of course you would, it means you get to wreak havoc and smash with no consequences!_ he thought. He was surprised to hear a grumble in reply. _Great, I'm having conversations with him now?_

He realized that he was just standing there, and that Tony was sort of expecting a reply.

"Um...I guess I could give this a shot. But if there's even the slightest chance that something will go wrong, I'm pulling the plug!" he countered. "I'm not letting you get hurt again." 

Tony grinned widely as Bruce gave in, his brain pretty much blocking out everything else that he said ever that.

"Attaboy, Bruce! You'll see, this work. I won't get hurt again, because this is going to be a lot less violent. We can keep moving from place to place, trying to help the Other Guy get a lid on his extraordinary favor for smashing. When he's agreed to cut down on the smashing, we can make a public appearance. Even Ross wouldn't try something in a civilian area. I'm Tony Stark, people listen to me. We'll work this out, okay?" He elaborated, patting his arm. An idea occurred to him that brought a slight smile to his lips. "And, if the Hulk's name gets cleared, I'll even work on building an indestructible room in the tower so he can just go nuts whenever he wants." 

Bruce raised a brow at that last part. _You think you can build a room that the Other Guy can't smash through? Well, then again, this is Tony Stark we're talking about; building the impossible is kind of what he does..._

"Okay, so how do you want to play this?" he asked. "Where would we start with this little 'campaign' of ours?" Manipulating the media was definitely not his field of expertise. 

Tony thought for a moment, scratching his beard.

"Well, first we definitely want to make sure the Hulk knows to act.. Semi-calm. Once we've got that down, we should start somewhere foreign. Maybe even have him stop a crime or something, I dunno. Think about it- if Iron Man appears in a town somewhere riding on the Hulk's shoulder, people won't get too freaked out, right? The people of New York know he's a hero, so that's a start at least," he elaborated, using hand gestures. "We have to campaign for this, like an election but with more fun. The media will just eat it up if a supposed 'rage monster' is out and about waving like the prom queen and posing for pictures. "

"So what, I should just concentrate on not smashing half the island? He doesn't exactly listen to me, yeah know," he said. He wasn't exactly being cooperative, but the fact that he was actually considering giving the Other Guy control when there wasn't some big leviathan, metal, alien beast coming after them wasn't the most comforting thought.

"Basically, when you're feeling better, you want me to practice trying to convince the Other Guy not to do something, and fly around foreign countries smashing things and stopping bank robbers?"

"I know, but he listens to me. And hey, you can convince him. I know you can. He wants to get away from Ross just as much as you do," Tony pointed out with a yawn. He refused to give in, no matter how much Bruce protested. "Don't sound so cynical! Of course we want to tone down the smashing, but I think the whole crime thing should be kept under watch. Something could go wrong, and it's even better if the big guy chooses to save the day spontaneously."

"Okay!" Bruce said, putting his hands in the air like a surrender. "Fine! As soon as you get better, we'll try it. And if I see you try and push yourself too hard before you're ready, I'll pump you so full of sedatives that you'll choke on your own drool, got it?" he threatened. He was serious. He'd do what Tony wanted, even if it was incredibly stupid, but if he tried to rush his recovery even slightly, he would stop this little plan of theirs before it even began.

Tony chuckled and laid his head down on the pillow, pulling the covers up. 

"Yes mother. No drugging the billionaire without his consent," he replied with a lazy smile, shutting his eyes. "I won't push it. No more rash decisions, I promise," he mumbled, trying to be truthful. Bruce smiled.

"Night then." He quietly left the room, using the high-tech light switch to dim the lights before he left.

It wasn't that late, but suddenly Bruce felt like a light nap would do him some good, to maybe help him process everything they talked about, so he headed to the next room. He pulled on a pair of grey sweats, and climbed into bed, asking for JARVIS to wake him in a couple of hours.

 _Of course, Sir,_ the AI answered quietly.

It only took him a moment to fall asleep, who welcomed him this time with a continuous string of nightmares that seemed to have no end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are going to start picking up now. And no more high Tony (aw).


	9. Baby Steps

About eight days (Tony lost track) passed relatively peacefully. There was an incident where a bird hit the window and Tony (doped up) thought they were under attack, but other than that things stayed calm. Bruce indeed did not have to sedate him as, true to his word, the billionaire stayed in bed and got plenty of rest. Today however, he was ready to move. 

"Bruce, I think I can start walking again," he said, looking up at the doctor. He was no longer on morphine, just Vicodin, and while it was still powerful, it wasn't as strong as morphine. Carefully he pulled back the covers, then looked to his companion pleadingly. "I'll go slow. Please?" Bruce laughed.

"Yeah, I think you've had more than enough time to heal up. I'm surprised you made it this long without going stir-crazy!" He stepped over the Tony, carefully positioning himself so as to give him as much support as possible. He helped to lift him from the bed, telling Tony that he should lean on him as much as he needed to until he was comfortable standing. It took a few minutes, but they finally managed it.

Tony laughed, but it cut off shortly when he threw an arm around Bruce and attempted to stand. It tugged at his side slightly, and while it was fairly healed, it still made him wince. 

"You have no idea," he grunted, finally on his feet. It did hurt a little, but not as much as it could.

Bruce allowed Tony to lean on him heavily, almost sandwiching Tony between himself and the wall so that he could have support on either side. He saw the other's winces at the tugging stitches, and while he wished he could help, the doctor in him told him that Tony as healing fairly well, and that a little pain was inevitable.

They made their way outside to the balcony, since Bruce figured Tony might want to see the outside world after laying in bed for over a week. He figured he might want to get a little sunshine and fresh air. He set the billionaire down on one of the chairs that Bruce had dragged out there a few days ago, so that he could rest a moment. 

"I'll be back in a minute," he told him, and he went to the kitchen to pour them both a cup of coffee, before returning outside and handing one of the mugs to Tony. 

Tony was grateful for the support, and honestly wouldve collapsed without it. He hadn't exactly walked in a while. Though he didn't want to admit it, he was relieved when the doctor eased him into a chair. He had to squint in the bright light, his skin slightly pale from lack of sunlight. "Oh my god, fresh air," he moaned dramatically, basking in the warm sun and inhaling deeply. He had missed this view a lot. It was a bit strange, that Ross and his men hadn't returned. Were they really stupid enough to think the pair of them had moved on, and just didn't check the house? Maybe they were locked out of the country for some reason. 

Looking up when Bruce returned, he accepted a mug and took a hearty drink. "Coffee too- its like I've been in prison for years," he sighed, having gotten his breath back. Walking wasn't so bad, he reasoned. 

Bruce rolled his eyes with a smile at Tony's dramatic self. He was glad that he had made the right call in taking him outside. They sat out on the balcony for a couple hours, Bruce refilling Tony's mug every so often with coffee or soup or whatever the man requested, and they just enjoyed the view while they could. Bruce would point to a few of the more damaged spots in the mass of trees below and ask what exactly Tony and the Other Guy had been doing down there to create such a mess, a light chuckle bubbling from his chest.

He wanted to focus on the lighter and happier moments with Tony, since their near future didn't look nearly as cheerful. He knew that this was likely to end badly for them both, but he tried to force those thoughts from his mind and focus on happier things, like being able to enjoy this brilliant view in front of them with his best friend, drinking coffee and laughing over stupid, irrelevant things. 

Tony was surprised at himself- or rather, the idea that he enjoyed himself. Despite his celebrity status, he really preferred to be alone and tinkering instead of in someone's company. So, naturally when he laughed for the billionth time, he was happily surprised to be enjoying himself. He regaled the time that he and the other guy had had, explaining how fascinated the big guy was with his repulsors and explosions.

After a few hours went by he found himself sighing, gazing out over the view.

"Just so you know.. Whatever happens, I won't ditch. We're in this for the long haul," he assured him with a slight smile. He had never had a friend quite like Bruce. Of course, on an intellectual level, he and Reed Richards were compatible, but the guy was a moron. Or rather, Tony just didn't like him. 

Bruce glanced over at Tony, not really expecting the billionaire to say what he did, but he smiled nonetheless.

"Thanks," he murmured, not really knowing how to respond. He knew by now, having spent the last week taking care of Tony and growing closer to him, that he wouldn't leave. Any other person with a brain would've left already, like they so often did in the past, but not Tony. Whether it was because he was brave, stupid, or just blindingly loyal, Bruce had no idea, but he didn't really care. The bottom line was, he could depend on Tony, and he hadn't had that luxury since his mom died when he was a kid. It was funny, considering that Tony could barely manage to take care of himself. He smiled, holding his mug in his calloused hands, watching the sun sink below the trees. "...I know..." 

Tony just smiled again before looking out over the deck. He wasn't exactly a compassionate person, it was just that maybe he needed a friend. Pepper was a girlfriend and she didn't count, Rhodey hardly ever came around, and the majority of SHIELD and the Avengers couldn't stand him. Understandable, but still. Bruce put up with him, and maybe he needed that to be straightened out. His better side was drawn out around the man, anyways. He actually cared about how Bruce viewed him, which was big in itself.

Tony was starting to doze off at that point, and actively trying not to. 

" 'm gonna fall 'sleep," he mumbled. He didn't exactly want to sleep outside on the deck, what with the heat and bugs. 

Bruce could see Tony fight his heavy lids, nearly nodding off a few times. He set down his mug and stood, helping Tony to stand and placing his shoulder under Tony's arm for support. It took a bit longer than last time, since Bruce practically had to carry him all the way back to his room, but they managed it eventually. Bruce half threw Tony onto the bed, not exactly forcefully, but considering how tired their little trip had made him, he was just ready to get Tony off of him and into bed.

He sat in the chair, breathing heavily from the exertion, mentally soothing the Other Guy back to sleep in the back of his mind.

"Man, have you been sending JARVIS to bring you food while I wasn't looking? I never realized you were so heavy!" he teased.

Tony would've made snide comments about carrying him if he had the breath to. He was still getting used to walking with his side, so even the tiny trip and leaning on Bruce left him exhausted. Luckily it didn't hurt when he hit the mattress though, because that wouldn't have made things much better. He simply pulled his legs all the way up, regaining his breath and color quicker than last time.

"It's your evil tea that's fattening me up. Just tell me straight- are you gonna eat me, doc? And if so, can I add my own little flare? I think I'd go really good with paprika," he snarked, rambling on in that way of his where no one else could get a word in edgewise. Bruce stared at him with a raised brow and a smirk, confounded by his weird comments.

"Tea doesn't make you fat, Tony," he said. Tony was rambling, which was always a sign that he was either tired, uncomfortable, or drunk, and Bruce assumed it was the former. He raised himself off the chair with a huff, helping Tony get somewhat comfortable in his bed, since he figured the way he landed must be a bit awkward. "See you in the morning then," he breathed, stepping out into the hall. 

"Oh yes it does!" Tony insisted, waving a hand. Yeah okay, maybe he was a little tired. He grumbled good-naturedly as Bruce helped situate him, though he wasn't really opposed to it. He just liked to give people trouble. "Good night, dearest!" Tony called after him with a slight grin, settling back into the pillow. He was out cold within minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know this chapter was short. Sorry. But, I only did it this way because in the next chapter they get off the island, and I didn't want to cram all of that into this one. I will update again later today.


	10. On the Road Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, another chapter!

Another few weeks had past on the island, and Tony's wound had almost completely healed, at least to where he could walk around and exert himself a but without pain in his side. Bruce allowed him to take one Vicodin if the bruising around the wound got really bad, since he knew how addicting the medication could be, especially for someone with such an addicting personality like Tony had.

The time had come that they needed to move and find a few place to stay for a bit, and to finally put their little plan into action. Bruce let Tony come up with most of the details, since he had come up with the idea, and he only chimed in when he needed to answer a question about Ross or the Other Guy. The whole thing still made him deeply unnerved and uncomfortable, but he swallowed his discomfort down for Tony's sake. He'd grown to trust Tony, and he was willing to give it a shot if Tony was confident in his plan, which he seemed to be. That was good enough for him.

Tony had packed some things he knew they would need, including tech that he ran with signals that were practically untraceable. He needed to research and such, after all. However, at Bruce's insistence, he made sure to pack lightly. They couldn't carry everything around with them.

"Alright, I've got a jet waiting. Where are we going? I think we should pick somewhere and then stay on that continent for a while, not use a jet, you know?" Tony elaborated, putting on a ball cap to at least partially disguise himself. 

Bruce thought for a moment.

"Well, I would love to go back to Calcutta, but considering that SHIELD, and by extension Ross, knows about my stay there, that's out. Maybe somewhere in South America? South America is better off economically than anywhere in Africa, really. Paraguay or Bolivia maybe? Wherever we can help people, and where the Other Guy can't do a whole lot of damage if something goes wrong with this plan of yours," he thought aloud. He honestly didn't care so much about which third world country they decided on, and since Tony wasn't exactly used to the lifestyle, they might want to start off with somewhere a bit better off than Ethiopia or Niger. 

Now it was Tony's turn to think for a moment.

"Paraguay it is then. Maybe we can make it to Brazil and see a soccer game," he added, grinning slightly. He was just messing with Bruce, although he wouldn't mind going to a game.. Picking up the bag that he had been granted, he lifted it over his shoulder and winced slightly. His side was pretty much healed, but every now and then the wrong movement tugged at it. He had a feeling it would be that way forever. "Alright big guy, lets head out. Jarvis is gonna fly the suit there," he said, glancing at the armor.

Bruce nodded, slinging a bag filled with extra pairs of Tony's sweats, jeans, and t-shirts (he really missed his button downs and khakis) over his shoulder. They left the summer house and to the car, Bruce tossing Tony the keys so he could drive. They threw themselves into the car, tossing their bags in the back, and in a moment were speeding down the twisting roads until they arrived at the airport, where Tony's jet was waiting as promised. JARVIS had flown there, and in doing so had arrived much faster than their car. The AI was waiting for them in the Iron Man suit, taking their bags and carrying them onto the plane, which was as strange as it sounded, considering the Tony was the one usually in the suit. But still, they boarded the jet without any mishaps, and before Bruce knew it they were lifting off into the air. 

Tony relaxed into his seat on the plane, sighing contentedly.

"When we find a place to stay in Paraguay, do you want to start.. Y'know," he asked, looking at him. He wanted to begin letting Mean and Green out as much as possible, because they would have limited time. Ross would no doubt track them everywhere. Something he'd noticed however, was that the nightmares had stopped. Maybe it was because he had been so relaxed lately, no action, no work, just Bruce and his zen ways. It was a nice change, really.

Bruce fidgeted in his seat. 

"Um, I suppose it would be as good a time as any..." The nightmares he'd started having since Tony's near death experience hadn't stopped, and he would always catch glimpses of things through the Other Guy's memories. He hardly ever retained anything that the Other Guy saw, and what he did see was jumbled and tinted in anger and confusion. The best way he could describe it would be like seeing through muddied lenses that aren't your prescription while you're half-asleep; it was a mess. These glimpses, along with the memories of being captured by Ross and the military, had clouded his mind every other night, and it was really starting to eat at him now that the time to release the Other Guy was drawing closer and closer.

He sat in the jet's cushioned seat and stared at the window, lost in his thoughts, trying to understand everything that he'd seen, now that they had some time to kill.

"Tony... do you mind if I ask you something?" he asked quietly. He knew that this was a touchy subject for Tony, and he hated to ask, but the anxiety over this was beginning to outweigh his trust in the billionaire. 

"It'll be okay big guy, I promise," Tony insisted at his hesitance. The Hulk liked Tony -tin man, he thought with a snort- so it couldn't be that hard. No doubt he would love to be out and about without getting shot at by soldiers. He couldn't see this not working, but they would just have to wait. In the meantime, they had a long flight ahead of them.

"Sure Bruce. What's up?" He asked, tilting his head slightly to one side. He wasn't sure what the man had in mind, but he didn't think much of it. Just a question.

Bruce took a deep breath, still unsure of how to ask.

"I've been having uh, nightmares, lately, and uh, catching glimpses of the Other Guy's memories, but I can't make sense of any of them. I saw the Loki shaped hole in the tower when I changed back, and Steve told me that the Other Guy had saved you when you fell from the wormhole... but I can't remember anything else. Could you tell me more about what happened? I know that it probably seems stupid, but...I hate not knowing what he's done. And if I'm going to be giving him control more and more...then that's more time that I'm going to have blotched from my memory. I just- I need to know what happened and what does happen, when I change, even if by some miracle he doesn't end up doing anything but smashing a few trees..." He let his voice trail off, not quite knowing how to phrase it, and it sounded so strange when it actually came out. He let the question hang in the air.

Tony paled slightly at the question, memories surging forward and jostling to be foremost in his mind.

"Well," he began, his mouth dry, "the Hulk, he uh, he didn't hurt anyone. Cap told him to smash and he just went nuts on the alien whack jobs -I heard he punched Thor too, but I think the guy deserved it anyway-" he rambled, his gaze distant. The memories were getting way too real, and it was almost as though the whine of their blasters and explosions was actually ringing in his ears. "I blacked out.. when I took out the portal.. he caught me," he wheezed, his breathing unsteady. What had started out as just a simple question about the Hulk was turning into something stranger, and wasn't that just grand? He hated that this was happening to him, that he couldn't handle even thinking about it. Was it killing him?

The plane hit a small bump and he yelped, slipping from his chair and onto his hands and knees as he started to hyperventilate. It was too real, he was dying, space, explosions, death-

Tony seemed more than uncomfortable answering the question, and Bruce was about to tell him that he didn't have to answer when Tony started to twitch and jump at the jostling of the jet. When he hit the ground and began to hyperventilate, Bruce, startled at his sudden attack, dropped to his knees beside Tony and tried to calm and even out the man's breathing. He wrapped his arms around Tony, tried to help ground him. 

"It's okay, Tony, you aren't there. You have to breathe. We're in a plane. You're perfectly safe now. I'm right here," he assured him. He held onto him firmly, but not so much that he would feel trapped or claustrophobic. He needed support, not to be locked down, since he knew from experience that that didn't help matters _at all._

Tony's breath continued to come out erratically, his heart beating a staccato tune against his chest as Tony struggled to come back to reality. At last he seemed to get control of himself and sagged into Bruce's embrace, peeling open his eyes which hurt from being clenched so tightly shut. 

"What.. what the hell.. was that?" He panted, little ripples of fear and anxiety still emanating from within.

Bruce relaxed somewhat when he felt Tony's body lean into his. He continued to hold him, even though the worst of the attack was over now, if not simply for support.

"Has this sort of thing ever happened to you before?" he asked quietly. He knew what had happened, but if this was Tony's first attack, well... it made matters a bit more delicate. He didn't know how Tony would react, and he was a bit unstable right now. 

Tony was actually sort of glad that he didn't let go. He almost felt like he was going to throw up.

"No.. not really," he answered, wondering if he'd had a heart attack. He felt at his chest but there was no pain, and his left arm felt fine. What was happening to him?

Bruce looked down at the man, who was still breathless and somewhat shaky. 

"Tony, I think you had an anxiety attack," he said simply. He didn't know how Tony would react, so he left it at that. He could see a flash of red and gold from the corner of his eye, JARVIS, still in the suit. _I concur with Doctor Banner, Sir. Based on heart and brain activity patterns, you seem to have experienced a severe anxiety attack,_ the AI chimed. 

Tony sat up slowly, wiping perspiration from his brow and looking at his hands. They were still shaking slightly.

"I.. okay," he said carefully, unsure of how to react. So now, to replace the nightmares he kept having, he would get anxiety attacks any time someone mentioned the city of New York? Fantastic. The only thing he could think to say was, "I'm sorry Bruce."

"For what?" he asked, brows stitched together in confusion. "Even if you were at fault for this, which you're not since you had no control over this...why would you apologize to me?" 

Tony looked up, guilt creeping from every line in his face.

"Well, this isn't supposed to be about me. We're supposed to be helping you and clearing your name, but I'm getting shot and having fucking anxiety attacks- its not about me," he sighed, shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath before he got himself worked up again.

"Tony, this isn't your fault. You almost died! Of course you're going to carry some baggage after something like that! Do you know how much of a wreck I was after the accident? I could barely function!  
Listen, I'm not upset because you are hurt. The fact that you even came here with me says enough. We can focus on this crap with Ross later; right now, I'm here to help you. I'm not leaving you to fight your battles, just like you promised not to leave me," Bruce promised. 

Tony listened in silence, finally looking up again as Bruce insisted that it wasn't his fault. He nodded slowly, gradually standing to sit back down in his chair.

"Alright," he sighed, relenting. "I guess you're right. I just didn't want to make this any harder. And.. Thank you, Bruce," he said, surprisingly vulnerable and open. All of his sarcasm and witty comments.. Well, they were a façade. A front to protect himself. 

Bruce was slightly taken-aback at Tony's openness, but he didn't know quite what to say. He nodded, quirking his lips up in a half-smile. He stood from his crouch and moved back to the seat opposite Tony. The awkwardness hung in the air between them for a moment. He leaned back, trying to get more comfortable, but what with the everything that just happened... well, it was hard to ease the tension when both were still so shaken. 

Tony sat back and draped a hand over his eyes, sitting in silence. He needed some time to sort this out, because he was seriously shaken. Usually things didn't faze him so easily, but this was his psyche they were talking about. Simple words had made him go into fight or flight- how could he be a superhero if that happened every time? After a stretch he stood abruptly, looking slightly edgy. 

"I'm gonna go make myself a drink. Helps me calm down," he said, knowing it was probably a bad solution. He couldn't help it though, on top of everything he abused alcohol. It had become a terrible habit, a way to feel better when things got rough. He probably didn't even know he had a problem, or rather, he knew and pretended he didn't.

Bruce didn't comment about Tony drinking right now. It probably wasn't the best thing for him to do right now, but he could tell that Tony needed some comfort right now, and if alcohol was the 'solution' well...

He knew what an alcoholic looked like. Oh God, did he know... But he decided to keep his mouth shut and just allow Tony to relax the best way he knew how.

Tony went to the minibar in the back and poured himself a scotch over ice, immedieately knocking it back. The usual burn was a comfort, something familiar when everything was getting so bizarre. He poured himself a second before returning to his seat to sip it slowly, leaving the bottle so he couldn't pour himself another. He just needed these two and he would be okay. He watched the sky and clouds outside go by, occasionally taking a drink. The light buzz was enough to calm him down, and they would be landing soon anyway.

"I gotta warn you, I don't think we'll be staying in a five star hotel," he finally said, breaking the silence.

Bruce smirked. "I thought it would be me that would have to remind you that," he teased lightly. He fiddled with his glasses (Tony had taken to keep an extra pair with him ever since he had started living in the tower), for lack of anything else to do. The whir of the jet's engine's lulled him, allowing him to relax into the seat's cushions. It seemed like only a moment later that they were landing. 

"You wound me, sir," Tony joked, putting a hand over his reactor. As the plane landed he finished his drink, setting it off to the side. "Alright, I think we should find a place to stay temporarily and then we can get started. That's okay with you, right?" He asked as an afterthought. Bruce's consent did matter to him.

Bruce nodded, but didn't say anything else, as he was trying to quiet the grumbling in the back of his mind. The Other Guy could tell that it was nearly time for his "big debut" and was getting more and more difficult to keep him settled down.

They made their way off the jet, JARVIS following close behind. Bruce figured that Tony would put on the suit for himself sooner or later. _Hell, he probably missed it._ It wasn't that difficult to find a place to stay, a small shack (although a nicer one compared to some of the others in the area) that was big enough for the both of them, a tiny kitchen, a table, and a place for Bruce to treat patients far enough away from the living area that it would be less likely for someone to catch infection or illness. It suited Bruce well enough, although he wasn't sure about Tony, considering how used he was to the luxury lifestyle. 

Tony set up a laptop in the corner and uploaded Jarvis into it, because he needed the suit now.

"Bruce darling, its perfect," he joked, grinning in a lopsided manner. Eagerly he stepped towards his suit where the back was open and let it form around him. "Oh baby I've missed you," he groaned, flexing in the suit. Running through a checklist, he turned to the doctor. "All up to you now big guy. Take your time- but we should take it outside," he added.

Bruce shot Tony a sideways glance at his obviousness, but nodded anyway. It was now or never, and this was the trial run that would make or break them. They found a somewhat empty clearing, far away from the populace in case anything didn't go as planned. Bruce had changed into a large pair of sweats, leaving his shirt, shoes, and glasses behind in the shack with the rest of their things. When they arrived, he instructed Tony to get as far away from his as possible, but he doubted the man would listen, him being so stubborn.

He felt around in the recesses of his mind for the beast, and it wasn't that difficult to lure him out. He felt the Other Guy's presence shift forward, and he felt himself being slowly suppressed beneath the beast's incredible weight. His skin rippled, crawling and shifting sickeningly across his arms and chest. It was always easier when he willingly gave in to him, but it was still agonizingly painful, like acid was being dumped all over him. His bones grew, becoming larger and denser, his muscles shifting and and growing, heat radiated from him in waves. It only took a handful of seconds, but it always felt like so much longer.

Bruce shot Tony a glance, hoping so much that nothing would go wrong, before he became buried and finally went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hulk's back!


	11. The Boys Will Play

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. I wasn't pleased with this one, and I'm sorry if this is boring. But I promise, if you stick with this story, it will turn into something great. As always, thanks for reading!

Tony only moved a few yards away while the transformation took place, to stay at a safe distance of course.

"Everything will be okay, Bruce," he called, watching him grow and shift. It always amazed him to watch the man change, a process that seemed impossible. Then again, weren't they all defying nature in their own ways? As the Hulk finally emerged he took a step forward, his face plate up so his face was visible. "Hey there big guy," he greeted, waving. "Missed ya, pal."

Hulk felt disoriented a moment, as he always did after a transformation, but quickly recognized the shiny red and gold suit, and burst into a grin (which still looked strange on his face). He moved forward, similar to that of an ape, long arms swinging low to the ground.

"Tin Man!" he growled, happy to see his friend after the long weeks away. Not only did he get to smash as much as he pleased when Tony was around, but he genuinely liked him. Besides Betty, no one else had actually treated him like a normal person before. He liked that.

Tony matched his grin, putting his hands on his hips.

"Hey Hulk. I don't know how much you heard, but we're going to help make people stop chasing you. Are you up for this? It means you can smash as long as you don't do it around people," he tried to explain, talking slow enough so at least the big guy would get it. In response Hulk let out an approving snort, inching closer to Tony in excitement. 

"No more Ross?" he growled questioningly.

"No more Ross. You can come out more, and I'll even make you a special playground for smashing and running around. Sound good?" Tony asked, gazing up at him without fear. He still trusted him, just like he was an overgrown toddler. Well, one he respected anyway.

The Hulk pounded the ground happily, ready to take Tony up on his offer of smashing. It was the first time in a long time he'd felt so carefree. They spent a while wreaking havoc in the clearing, on the nearby trees, and even a few abandoned shacks and ruins they found in the wilderness. He jumped and played around like an overgrown toddler, his booming laughter echoing for miles as he uprooted trees and created craters in the rich soil, sending dirt flying everywhere. 

Tony was admittedly enjoying himself playing with the big guy. He'd never thought much about having kids, but he figured if it was anything like playing with the Hulk, then it wouldn't be too bad. They took turns breaking things, he fired his repulsors, and even got a contest going to see who could throw a tree the farthest. Obviously the Hulk won. The physical activity strained his side slightly, but he ignored it. 

"Now, you know you can't do this around people, right?" Tony asked, the whine of his replusor filling the air as he blasted it through a tree branch. "It might scare them. You have to be gentle around people." 

The Hulk stopped in his smashing for a moment, looking at Tony in confusion. 

"But- people shoot at Hulk! People afraid of Hulk! They call Hulk a monster!" He shouted angrily in protest, crushing the small boulder in his hands into pebbles. His face contorted into a snarl, his teeth bared. "Why should Hulk not smash?!"

Tony held his hands up in a calming motion, trying not to get him too worked up. 

"Soldiers have guns. Not people. People are in cities and they're afraid when you try to hurt them. I promise, people don't shoot at you. If a soldier shoots you, then smash them. But don't smash until someone hurts you, okay?" He tried to explain. He could defend himself, but smashing up civilians wasn't good.

Hulk just growled in response, the cogs in his brain turning slowly in an attempt to understand. After a moment, things seemed to click, and he nodded in a very Bruce-like way to show that he understood. There were people who didn't have the angry gun things, and then people called soldiers that did. 

"Hulk smash soldiers and trees with Tin Man, but no people?" he asked, as to clarify what Tony said. Tony gave a thumbs up.

"Right. People are like Tin Man- they don't hurt Hulk. Soldiers are like Ross, they hurt Hulk," he explained, pouncing on the explanation. He was glad the goliath understood, because civilian casualties would just set everything back by about forever. They needed to show Hulk as a snugly bunny. A green, huge, loud snugly bunny.

Hulk grinned, pleased that he'd gotten it right. 

"And Hulk like Tin Man, so Hulk like people!" he said enthusiastically. "Tin Man _SMASH!_ " He broke a tree over his knee and chucked both pieces far over the horizon of the trees, which a moment later created an audible crash as they slammed into each other, as if to emphasize his point. He turned a pleased grin on Tony once more.

"That's right!" Tony said encouragingly, glad that the big man understood. When the trees collided he lifted his hand and fired a repulsor, causing the halves to explode in a flurry of wood chips and splinters. Luckily they were too far away to be hit by any pieces.

Hulk beamed at the explosion, and the pair continued to cause considerable damage to much of the surrounding area. It took a lot to wear the Hulk out, but after (after nearly twelve hours, in fact) a while the exertion of smashing everything in sight, as well as the adrenaline and dopamine running through his system, finally wore him out, and he slowed down more and more until finally he stopped altogether. His breathing heavy, the giant looked at Tony. 

"Hulk glad Tin Man friend. Smash again?" he asked simply, wondering if he would be allowed out again any time soon. He hated being cooped up all the time, which is one reason why he fought so hard to claw his way to the surface whenever the opportunity presented itself. 

Tony came forward and patted his arm in a friendly manner.

"Yup. Tell you what, we can smash again in a few days. Sound good?" He asked, smiling. This was like putting to bed a small child who wanted to keep playing.

The Hulk gave a tired grunt in reply, and grudgingly gave back control back to Bruce. His body began to shrink back down to its normal size, the sickly green fading from his skin, and his weak form dropping unceremoniously to the ground. It took a few moments for Bruce to open his eyes again, and when he did manage lift his heavy lids, he was in a daze, squinting confusedly up at the night sky. He tried to prop himself up on an elbow, only to collapse back onto the cold soil. He was completely drained, and he was only able to catch a glimpse of red and gold before he went limp and everything went black. 

Tony lunged but was not fast enough to catch him. He grimaced, knowing the doctor was probably exhausted.

"My turn to play mother hen," he mused to himself, scooping his arms under Bruce's back and knees. Because he didn't want to wake him, the engineer walked the full mile back to the shack they were staying in, rather than flying. When he reached it, he carefully laid the doctor down on the provided bed and draped a blanket over him. Then he stripped out of the suit and set about making a pot of coffee, resolving to make tea when the man finally woke up. He figured it would be a while.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was morning when Bruce finally began to stir. Every muscle of his body ached, and he sat up, a blanket sliding down his bare torso. He couldn't help but grimace at the soreness that seemed to radiate from every part of his body. He ran fingers through his mess of curls, groaning as he draped his legs over the side of the thin mattress. Bruce noticed a glass of water sitting on the small table next to him, and he readily took it, gulping down its stale contents to try and wash away the acrid taste left in his mouth from his time as a rage monster.

Bruce looked around their small home, trying to remember how he'd gotten here. He faintly remembered changing back, but only for a few seconds. Had Tony brought him back? He stood to search for him, but his legs had other ideas, and gave way. He reached out for the table to stop his descent, causing it to clatter clumsily to the ground and causing him to swear lightly to himself. 

Tony was currently in the only other room of the house, and came out, alarmed, as he heard a crash followed by cursing. 

"Hey, only I'm supposed to pull stupid stunts like that," he scolded, helping Bruce to his feet. Despite any protests he led Bruce back to the bed and eased him back down on it, disappearing and returning a moment later with a cup of tea. "It's probably not as good as when you make it, but.." he offered the cup out to him before moving to straighten out the table.

Bruce leaned heavily on Tony as he helped him back into the bed. He took the cup and took a grateful sip before freezing. He forced down a grimace while Tony's back was turned, not wanting to hurt Tony's feelings over how awful it was. It tasted like he picked some leaves up off the ground outside and just threw them in the pot of water. Instead he offered a smile and a murmured thanks, setting the cup down and leaning back into the pillow, closing his eyes tiredly.

He could feel the bags under his eyes, and he knew he must look awful, but in truth, he really only care that 1) The Other Guy hadn't hurt anyone 2) That Tony was okay and 3) That he had on pants. It looked like 2 and 3 could be checked off the list, although the sweats he had were stretched beyond repair, so he asked about 1, praying that nothing had gone wrong. 

Tony didn't notice his aversion to the drink, turning back only in time to see the man smile.

"He didn't hurt anyone. Actually, I explained to him that he shouldn't hurt people and he understood," he elaborated, patting his legs to rid his hands of dust.

Bruce looked at him, confused.

"Really? He _listened_ to you? And he understood?" he asked in disbelief. He supposed he should be grateful and relieved that things had gone according to plan (which he was), but that didn't mean it made the idea of the Other Guy listening to anyone any easier to grasp.

"Yup, he sure did. He wanted to smash people at first, but I explained to him that normal people aren't dangerous. I told him soldiers were bad and people were good, and he shouldn't smash people who don't hurt him," Tony explained with a grin, squeezing Bruce's shoulder. "People are like 'Tin Man', they don't hurt Hulk," he said in Hulk's mannerism, using air quotes.

Bruce raised a brow at Tony's little impression, a smile on his face. Relief washed over him knowing that everything went according to plan, knowing that this whole thing might actually work, that he might actually get to live a semi-normal life and not have to worry about Ross anymore. He glanced tiredly at Tony. 

"Well, if all soldiers are bad, then I'd hate to see how the Other Guy reacts to Cap when we get back..." he joked. 

Tony grinned broadly, snorting and draping a hand over his eyes.

"Well, ol' Capsicle probably deserves it. He needs someone to knock some fun into him anyway," he replied, patting his leg. "You should get some rest. You look tired."

"Yeah..." Bruce agreed, his body already ahead of himself, relaxing into the thin mattress, and closing its heavy lids. He drifted off into a somewhat restful sleep filled with the sounds of bellowing laughter and repulsor blasts.

Tony watched him, smiling slightly before he stood and stretched. Well, maybe he'd jog to relieve some tension in his side. And buy some booze. Booze was good too. Putting on a hoodie and pulling the hood up over his head, he stepped outside and set a light pace for a jog around the woods.


	12. Heroism 101, With Tony Stark

It wasn't but a few hours later that Bruce woke again, probably around eleven based on the shadows he could see through the window. He blinked the grogginess from his eyes, suppressing a yawn. He still felt like someone had hit him with with a truck, but he did feel a little better than he did last time he was awake. Bruce thought it better than to try and stand this time, and instead propped his back up against the wall and looked around for Tony.

A few minutes after Bruce woke up, Tony wandered into the room, his hair wet from a shower. Well, it was more of a tiny closet with a hose than a shower, but whatever. 

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Nice to see you joined the land of the living again," he chuckled, sitting in a chair. He felt refreshed, if not a little humid, but the shower helped. "You hungry? We have ramen.. with a side of ramen," he offered with a shrug; they couldn't carry much food with them and Tony couldn't cook to save his life. The waffle incident.. he shuddered.

"Starving," Bruce replied, "and ramen sounds great." One thing that he'd been worried about when Tony had suggested the idea of releasing the Other Guy, was that doing so made him so famished afterword, which would really cut down on their minimal food supply. But right now he was too hungry to care about conserving food, and instead he ate three helpings of the steaming noodles that Tony made. It still wasn't enough to fully quench his appetite, but he took what he could get, and it was enough for him to get on with the rest of the day. He'd definitely been hungrier before... 

"Sorry we don't have very much. The nearest town is like, fifteen miles, and I could fly, but that would be way too obvious. And I'd be spotted instantly," Tony apologized, drumming his fingers on the counter. So far so good- Hulk hadn't killed anyone, Ross hadn't found them, and he hadn't had an anxiety attack. He was still a bit nervous about sleeping though, and tried to avoid it at all costs. He had been hoping the doctor wouldn't notice. At the moment Bruce seemed a bit too preoccupied to pick up on that kind of thing, but one could never be sure. He was fairly perceptive.

"Hey, it takes a lot to fill me up after a transformation; this is more than I could ask for," Bruce replied with a shrug. He set down his empty bowl and looked at Tony. It looked like Tony hadn't slept for awhile, but he figured it was because the engineer was trying to take care of him (which he found somewhat comforting, since Tony usually had trouble taking care of himself, much less anyone else). "So what's out next move?" he wondered aloud. 

"Well," Tony began, crossing his arms, "I want to let the Hulk out a few more times, gain his trust, you know? I know he already trusts me, but if we can solidly ingrain in his mind not to smash people or in public, I think we would do well. Of course, you need a few days more rest before letting him out again. Once that's done, I think we should try and test him around people. Not a big crowd, but, y'know. This is gonna sound horrible, but I'm sure we could pay like two people to just sit still so Hulk can see them. These people out here don't have much money.. I mean, we have to do something to get him used to civilians," he elaborated, starting to ramble as usual. It sounded horrible even to his own ears, bribing a poor person with the promise that Hulk probably wouldn't hurt them, but they needed to desensitize him to people. 

Bruce's eyes grew wide in alarm. Was he seriously suggesting exploiting poor, starving people to stand near a big green rage monster to see if he didn't...rage? 

"Are you serious?" he asked incredulously. He knew that they needed to get the Other Guy on the public's good side, but this? There had to be another way than this, but his mind wasn't churning up any brilliant ideas, so he continued to stare at Tony like they were both crazy.

"What else can we do? Drop him in the capital city and see how well THAT turns out?" Tony scoffed, crossing his arms. They didn't have many ideas or options. "I mean, if its a small group I people.. What else can we do?" He repeated, throwing his hands up. Bruce sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn't want to fight or upset Tony. 

"Okay, I see your point," he agreed, putting his hands defensively in the air. "Let's just...try and take things slow. We can't do this until we're absolutely sure that nothing will happen." He compromised. Bruce hated this idea, but like Tony said, they didn't have any other viable options, so they would just have to try and hope things work out for the best. 

Tony felt guilty for shouting, but he couldn't take it back. 

"What if we have him interact with me a few times outside the suit? He'll learn to be gentle, then," he suggested, scratching his head. Lack of sleep made him slightly irritable, if not talkative.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Bruce agreed. At least then, maybe the Other Guy would have some idea of how to interact with people. He could tell how tired Tony was however, so he decided to cut their conversation short. "Hey, why don't you get some rest? I've gotten enough, and I think I can manage to entertain myself for a few hours," he offered. He could see the way the man's shoulders tensed up at the mention of sleeping, the way he immediately shut down, his emotions turning off and being replaced with a mask. 

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you in a few hours," Tony replied, albeit stiffly, getting up and walking into the next room over. Bruce hoped he actually did get some sleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony wasn't nervous. He was tired, on the verge of passing out, but not nervous. Definitely not afraid.

"Alright Brucey, you know the drill. He won't hurt me, I promise," he said, holding up his hands. He was out of the suit, garbed in jeans and a t-shirt for this experiment. Time to test the Hulk around people. The big guy had been out a total of three other times, and each time Tony had reminded him of the difference between soldiers and people. It seemed like they were getting somewhere, so now it was finally time to test things. They'd start with just Tony, sans his armor, and if that went well, they could try it with civilians.

Bruce nodded, closing his eyes and trying to fight down the nervous knot in his stomach. _Everything will be fine. The Other Guy supposedly did great the last few times with Tony..._ he thought to himself. The transformation was getting easier and easier for him to control, what with all the practice he'd had, and the Other Guy had almost completely stopped fighting him for control. Bruce had yet to decide if that was a relief or scary.

It only took a moment of growing and stretching, and then the Other Guy stood in Bruce's place. He stooped himself over to get a better look at the form below, a bit confused at not seeing the usual red and gold figure. "Where Tin Man?" He asked, not in anger, but with uneasiness at not seeing his companion there with him. Tony's face looked familiar to him, but he wasn't used to seeing this man.

Tony knew that this could be dangerous and stayed where he was, holding up his hands in a non-aggressive gesture. 

"Hey buddy, it's me. Tin Man. I'm just not wearing my uh, big metal suit," he greeted, giving a little wave. Thinking he might recognize the light, Tony held up his shirt to display the reactor. "See? It's still Tin Man big guy."

The Hulk squinted, his large brows stitching together in confusion. He looked familiar, having seen his face multiple times before, and when he showed him the bright blue light from the arc reactor, he believed him. He still didn't understand why Tin Man didn't look the same, but he didn't focus on it too much, instead he inched closer, a huge grin on his face. 

"Smash?!" he asked hopefully, ready to play like they so often did together.

"No buddy, not today. Tin Man isn't strong without his metal suit," Tony tried to explain, holding his arms out wide. "See, I could get hurt. You can't smash around people like me, or we'll be very scared and very hurt. Only Tin Man is strong enough to smash with you." This had to work. Otherwise the Hulk may end up crushing him. It was a bit of a gamble to begin with, displeasing Hulk by telling him he couldn't smash today. But Tony wasn't afraid of him.

Hulk's shoulders slumped forward, making his fists brush against the ground, and a look of annoyed disappointment crossed his face. 

"Why people so weak and puny?" He grumbled, giving Tony an irritated snort and he lowering himself to the ground. Usually Tony was able to fly up to him in the suit, but now that he was out of the red and gold, the Other Guy had to lower himself down in order to see his face. He was starting to notice the difference between Tony, the small man, and Tin Man, the strong metal man. "Hulk scare people?" he asked, perplexed. Why would people fear him if he didn't smash? Tin Man, even without his suit, didn't seem scared of him, and didn't he say he was like people? He grew more confused by the minute, but used a level of self-control he didn't even know he had, and refrained from smashing anything around his friend, for now at least. 

Tony puffed air out of his cheeks, trying to decide how best he could explain. 

"Oh boy, how do I put this.. People aren't as big and strong as Hulk. You, you are very strong," he began, enunciating his words with a point at Hulk. "You're right, people are weak. And when people see you, they don't think they can protect themselves. They think you might smash them, even though you won't. We're trying to show people that you aren't a monster, because Hulk is not a monster. But you have to be gentle, because people are puny and weak. I know you won't smash me, so you don't scare me." Talking to the Hulk was like explaining String Theory to grad students. To him at least.

After a moment he seemed to understand at least most of what Tony had said, miraculously, and he let out another irritated snort. 

"Hulk only knows how to smash..." he admitted sadly. It was true. Destruction and breaking everything he touched was the only thing he knew, and were what people used him for. He didn't even know if he could be gentle. Could he even touch a person without hurting them?

He grew more and more frustrated, and he wanted nothing more than to leap off and wreak some havoc out in the wilderness somewhere, to be alone since he seemed to destroy everything he touched, but he didn't for the sake of his friend. He continued to sit there, fuming to himself, his features twisted in rage. 

Tony could see he was struggling with internal conflict, and it made him feel bad. Approaching slowly, he patted the big guy's leg, gazing up at him. 

"Hey, you know when you caught Tin Man out of the sky? You weren't smashing then. You were being a hero. Sometimes smashing is a good thing, though. You smashed the bad aliens. You were a hero then too big guy. No one was afraid of you then, they were impressed and they were happy. You helped save the world." 

The Hulk looked down at the man, faintly feeling the hand on his hot skin. It was strange to be touched like that, since the only time anyone actually managed to touch him, it was in the form of a fist. He grinned, glad to have found a friend like his Tin Man. He wanted to try and return his touch, but he was unsure how without hurting him. Gingerly, he stuck out a hand to try and pat him on the head, ruffling his dark hair a bit forcefully. 

"Okay?" he asked, hoping that he hadn't damaged his friend somehow.

Tony winced ever so slightly, but gave him a thumbs up anyway. He needed encouragement. 

"Yeah, that's just fine. But for now, only pat Tin Man, okay?" He requested, trying to picture the Hulk petting random civilians. Well, it was an improvement from smashing them.. He gave his leg another pat to reassure him that he was okay.

The Hulk grinned, proud that he had been able to restrain himself and his Tin Man was okay. He looked to him as if to ask what he should do now. Taking orders and listening to directions were still new to him, so he did his best to pay attention and not let his short attention span linger. 

Tony was at a loss for what to do now. 

"Uh.." Usually Hulk changed back because he was tired, but now he wasn't, and if he wanted Bruce back.. oh, crap. "Okay, time for target practice. Smashing stuff is fun, but it's also good to smash certain things instead of just random things. See that rock wall?" He asked, pointing about thirty yards away. "See if you can hit that with a rock or a tree or something."

He happily obliged, glad to stretch his muscles and release the anger that seemed to embody his very being. Hulk used a boulder and missed the target on the first throw, but the annoyance that resulted from it allowed him to easily hit it the second time, reducing the stone wall to rumble. 

"Nice hit! See, if you have good aim, you can be better at fighting," Tony praised, looking up at him. Obviously though, he would have to do a lot to get him tired now. "Hey, can you put me on the roof?" He asked suddenly, pointing to the top of their house. Then they would be at eye level, mostly anyway since he would be taller than the Hulk. He would sit though. "Be careful when you pick me up though," he warned, cause who knew, maybe he would pick up a hurt person some day. He hoped it wasn't him- being the hurt one, that is. He didn't care if Hulk picked him up as long as nothing important got crushed.

Hulk beamed at the praise, liking the thought of fighting something like the Chitauri again. When Tony made his request, he nodded, picking Tony up carefully with both hands, pinning the man's arms to his sides, and placing him on the room of the shack. It could have been a bit more gentle, but he got the job done without actually hurting Tony. Another test passed. 

Tony held his breath. The Hulk was very gentle, luckily, though it was still something else to be picked up by him. Slightly off balance, he pinwheeled his arms a bit before lowering himself into a sitting position. 

"Thanks. That was very good," he said, scooting to sit on the edge. "Now, how far can you throw a rock? Can you pass that big tree?" He asked, pointing to the sky line where there was a large tree towering over the others. 

The Hulk looked at him unimpressed by the challenge, and he hurled the rock over the trees, making the distance easily. He was sort of getting bored with this, considering his time out was usually filled with explosions and demolishing entire forests. He grunted, looking at Tony in a melancholy fashion. 

"Does Tin Man not want to play with Hulk anymore?" He asked, tipped off by Tony semi-reluctant behavior toward Hulk's smashing.

Tony blanched- that wasn't what he'd been trying to get across. Hulk being sad was ironically pitiful.

"Of course I like to play with you! I just want to help you so that people see you as a hero, like I do. But tell you what, you earned it today. Help me down and I'll go get my suit so we can play," he relented, standing up. Impulsively, he had an idea. And he didn't wait a single second to think about it. Charging into things with half-cocked plans was his specialty, though it might earn him a broken neck this time. Pretending to slip, he fell off the roof, praying the Hulk would catch him.

As Tony had hoped, Hulk lunged forward instinctively, catching Tony before he could hit the ground. The shack wasn't very tall, but he still hadn't wanted the fragile man to get hurt. He placed him down as gently as he could. The Hulk remembered catching him when he fell from the sky all those months ago, how he threw him off so forcefully without a second thought, and he saw how much he'd improved in just the past few weeks with Tony.

"Tin Man okay?" he asked when he released Tony from his grasp. 

The breath whooshed out of him as he was caught, though he expected that. Tony staggered as Hulk set him down, slightly dizzy but fine otherwise. 

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks big guy, you saved me," he said with a big grin, giving the thumbs up. That had been an incredibly good sign- Hulk was learning to save people. In the future, that could really help things along. Tony went inside for a moment and returned in the suit, still smiling to himself. "You did a good job. Now lets smash."


	13. Life as Usual.. Sort of

Bruce woke a few hours later to the sound of Tony's light snores echoing throughout their home. There was a pattern developing here, one that seemed to transition from him Hulking out, waking up, and then two or three days in between of boring nothingness. Tony, when he was properly disguised was able to find work in the town from time to time as an engineer. The jobs were all small of course, like fixing up some sort of appliance or rusty car, but it made them enough money to keep buying food.

He lifted his head, thick with grogginess, and he sat up slightly, downing the water that he knew would be sitting there waiting for him (Tony had caught on quickly that one was much appreciated after he woke up from a transformation). He wondered if things had gone to plan, if the Other Guy had managed to remain gentle with Tony outside the suit. He peered over behind the small couch (more of a love-seat, really), and saw Tony's limp form, his chest rising and falling evenly. He looked and sounded unhurt, and that was enough for him for the moment, so he settled back down to sleep. 

Apart from little jerks and twitches, Tony slept fine. Every now and then he would gasp and whimper, tossing and turning, but it usually ended quickly and without fanfare. It seemed that whatever was happening in his dreams, he resolved it in his head. That is, until he rolled off the couch eight hours later with a huge thud. 

"Agh! Son of a bitch!" He gasped, sitting up and rubbing his elbow. He'd nailed it pretty hard on the way down.

The loud thud was enough to wake Bruce from his light sleep, and he started. He shot up, his head and muscles screaming in protest, and he winced, before looking down at Tony's prone form sprawled across the wood floor. He managed to get out of bed and make his way across the room, using the wall for support, and then knelt shakily beside Tony. 

"You okay?" he asked worriedly, trying not to betray the weakness he felt just from having stood and moved so abruptly. 

Tony looked up to see Bruce kneeling over him, mentally kicking himself for worrying the doctor. The man clearly shouldn't have been out of bed, what with the color drained from his skin and slight beads of perspiration rolling down his face and neck.

"I'm fine. Bad dream- rolled off the couch," he said, sitting up and giving Bruce a once over. "You should sit back down before you collapse. You look exhausted," he suggested. Bruce gave a slight shrug. 

"I'm actually not as tired as I usually am after a transformation. Did anything happen while the Other Guy was...?" He let the question linger in the air, helping Tony off the floor before collapsing onto the couch himself. He looked at Tony, and although he looked slightly shaken from his dream, he seemed relatively fine. He actually seemed quite a bit more rested than before, considering that he'd looked dead on his feet the past few days. 

"He did just fine," Tony said, sitting on the couch beside him and mopping sweat from his own brow. "In fact, I got him to understand how to be gentle around people. I had him pick me up and put me on the roof. Then I fell off the roof and he caught me all on his own. He's learning Bruce, I really think he is. He didn't just toss me off this time, anyway. I did let him smash a little though, as a reward," he explained.

Bruce looked surprised, but he nodded at Tony's little assessment. It was incredible to think that the Other Guy was actually capable of learning and being gentle, so much that Bruce had a hard time processing it. But he took Tony's word for it, and he promised himself that he would continue with these little training sessions, if for nothing else, because it might end up saving a few lives. He sat there quietly, listening to a few flies buzzing around the shack, thinking. If they could make this much progress in so little time... could it be possible that they had a chance of making it through this and winning? He really wanted to hope, he did. 

Tony sighed and got up, groaning slightly and stretching. Sleeping on a couch didn't do great things for your back. 

"Want some tea? I was gonna make a pot of coffee," he said finally, wandering into the little kitchen area thing. Honestly, this shack was so small, nearly claustrophobic in contrast to his usual homes, but having a companion eased the tension that the dilapidated walls cast on him.

Bruce peered behind the couch at Tony. 

"Coffee's fine," he said lamely. When Tony brought the mugs over, he gratefully took his and sipped the hot, bitter liquid. It definitely wasn't the gourmet stuff at Stark Tower, but it was fine with him, and he finished it in a few minutes, feeling the buzz the coffee gave him a bit later. Bitter, black coffee was a lot better than Stark's version of tea.

Tony shrugged and leaned against the wall with his own mug, practically chugging. It made him antsy not to have liquor, but he didn't dare get drunk around the Hulk. That could be a disaster, plus he was ashamed to depend on it and didn't want the doctor to know. Needless to say, it made him a little twitchy with the effects of withdrawal.

Bruce watched Tony chug his coffee, noticing his twitchiness after word. He figured it was just the caffeine causing it, and didn't give it a second thought, considering the starling amount of coffee the billionaire used to consume at the tower. Not much else happened the rest of the evening, and Bruce decided after a nap he'd go for a walk, get out of the house for a bit while he wasn't mean and green. He asked Tony if he wanted to come along. He couldn't help but feel a slight amount of pleasure when Tony agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were on their way back when Tony's pocket began to buzz. Hadn't it been off? Frowning, he opened up his cellphone.  
"Hel-"

"TONY! Oh my god, where the hell have you been? Why didn't you call me?"

"Easy Pep, I-"

"Don't you 'Easy Pep' me, I've been worried that you were dead for weeks! There is a warrant out for Bruce's arrest and you're missing!"

"Please, Pepper, let me talk!"

"NOW YOU WANT TO TALK?!" Tony held the phone away from his ear, wincing as shouting could be heard on the other end. Turning to Bruce, he smiled weakly and said, "So Pepper says hi.."

Bruce was slightly startled at the screaming coming from the other side of the cell, and he only offered a weak smile at Tony's remark. _How were they even getting a signal out here? Oh, right, Stark tech uses it's own private satellites..._ he reasoned to himself. He stood awkwardly off to the side as he heard Pepper berate Tony on the phone, not quite knowing what he should do. She had a right to be upset, after being kept in the dark for so long, but it still seemed a little unwarranted. They were being chased by the military, risking phone calls wasn't an option. 

When his fiery redhead girlfriend had finally stopped yelling, Tony started to explain himself. 

"Look Pepper, I would've called you. I wanted you to know I was alright, believe me. But they're after us, and one wrong move could have us surrounded. I can't come home yet, but I promise I'll come back to you in one piece. I love you Pep, and once I've helped Bruce, I'll come right home. Just stay safe, and if you see anybody suspicious hanging around, get in touch with the Avengers. They'll protect you," he promised, explaining it all as quickly as he could. "It isn't safe to stay on this line. I have to go." There was a pause, followed by a sigh. 

"Okay Tony. Just.. be safe," she said softly before hanging up; Tony conveniently forgot to mention he'd been shot. That wouldn't bode well. 

"Guess it could've been worse. Could've had an anxiety attack," he managed, scrubbing his forehead. He'd honestly expected more screaming from Pepper, and resolved to make it up to her when he got home for being so understanding. 

Bruce didn't say anything for a moment, allowing Tony to collect his bearing after his little scolding, before asking about Pepper, if she was alright. After all, the only way Ross would've been able to find out about Tony's summer home was through her. Tony hadn't panicked upon hanging up, so that had to be a good sign.

"Yeah, she's okay. Since we didn't tell her anything, they couldn't charge her for aiding fugitives. She went back to the house in Malibu- Happy's gonna watch over her," Tony sighed, pausing to lean against as tree. Man, wasn't that just a morale booster. His body guard that wasn't really a body guard was now watching his girlfriend because he couldn't.

"Well, that's good news," he breathed. Bruce actually had never met Happy, but from what he'd heard about him, he seemed loyal and protective enough to take care of Pepper at the very least. Yeah, Pepper would be fine. A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Uh, Tony, won't Ross be able to find us now that Pepper's called you? They have to be tracing her calls..." he asked nervously. The last thing they needed was a setback like Ross catching up. 

"I.. Uh," Tony said simply, looking sheepish. "I don't.. I don't know. My cell phone isn't registered to me. If they looked it up they would just see that she called a blocked number," he said hesitantly, unsure. Crap. He hoped this didn't ruin anything. 

Tony's lack of confidence wasn't reassuring, and Bruce's fear was written plainly on his face. 

"We should pack up our stuff and leave in the morning," he advised. It was already getting late, the sun having all but set. Right now they were going off the light of Tony's arc reactor, which was attracting a plethora of insects like a bug zapper. They could pack everything away and catch a few hours of sleep, then make their way to the airport before sunrise. They'd be long gone before the Hulkbuster units could sweep the area, and there wouldn't be a trace left.

Tony swatted and dodged winged creatures, keeping his mouth shut to avoid swallowing a bug. Escaping inside and shutting the door after Bruce, he agreed, 

"Yeah. First thing in the morning. Brazil, then?" He asked with puppy eyes, flopping on the couch that faced the window. It was one of the nicer countries they had to choose from. 

Bruce gave a thumbs up as he tried to catch his breath. He set to work gathering what few possessions they had, packing them in small car that they kept hidden in the back (covered in foliage so as to not attract people's attention). It was about 1 a.m. when he finally collapsed on his sheet-less bed, falling asleep almost instantly. Tony didn't have much luck actually getting to sleep, but he laid down and attempted to follow suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ready for some action people? Because here it comes. This chapter was a filler for what is to come next.


	14. Hulk-busted

Tony was having one of those sleepless nights again. It wasn't so much that he was having nightmares as it was insomnia keeping him awake. Every single noise in the quiet space felt magnified, the light heat seemed sweltering. It almost seemed pointless after a while. Why, he wondered, did sleep elude him when he was finally trying to get some?

He finally got up at 3 in the morning, sighing and sitting on the edge of the bed as he scrubbed his face. He'd given up for the time being- maybe he'd go for a walk. There wasn't much else to do.. Something pricked his neck and he swatted idly at the area, thinking it a mosquito. As he stood, the world swayed dangerously and he stumbled to one side. What the hell? He brought his hand up and felt dread bubble up from within as his fingers brushed a dart. Shit.

He tried to warn Bruce, but his tongue felt heavy, as did his limbs. He managed to knock a glass to the ground, hoping the shatter it caused would wake the doctor as he slumped to the floor, his eyes glassy and vision spotting out. His last coherent thought was a prayer that Jarvis would pilot in the Iron Man suit.

Bruce woke from the shatter of glass, and he shot up, blinking the sleep from his eyes to see over a dozen men in black uniforms surrounding the shack. One stood a few feet away, a dart gun in hand (probably with an adrenaline inhibitor), aimed and ready to shoot. His eyes searched to room for Tony as he stood defensively away from the soldiers, and his eyes found him lying on the floor of the small kitchen, unconscious and drooling slightly on the wood floors.

Dammit! He thought they'd have more time than this! He shot Tony another glance, thinking back to all the times he'd praised the Other Guy for how much he'd learned over the past few weeks. _Okay, Banner, you can do this. This is one of the reasons why you started doing this in the first place. The Hulk wouldn't let anything happen to Tony..._ He closed his eyes and shifted the presence from the back of his mind forward, allowing the Hulk to take control. Judging by the rage he felt bubbling through him as the beast surged forth, Hulk didn't like to see Tony hurt either. It only took a few seconds, the transformation almost fluid at this point (although it still caused his body to burn like a mother), and mean and green stood in his place.

At the sight of the soldiers, the Hulk became consumed in rage, growling and snarling like a wild animal at his attackers, who had begun to fire advanced military tech at him. He bellowed again, raising his arms protectively around his face, and while he was looking away from the gunfire, he caught sight Tony's still form. His anger swelled inside him, but his focus seemed to sharpen, and he shifted over to Tony, taking him in his huge green arms to protect him from any stray bullets. Then leaped into the air in an attempt to escape from the Hulkbusters, making sure not to crush Tony while he crashed through the wooden ceiling and landed in the trees behind the shack.

Jarvis did man the suit luckily and flew after them, firing warning shots at the house. There were units of Hulkbusters in pursuit of the two fugitives, but it didn't worry the artificial intelligence. He knew the Hulk could outrun the soldiers with quick some mathematics, though he didn't want the Hulk to mistake him for an enemy, so he kept his distance and followed as the giant jumped through the trees. 

The Hulk kept moving, leaping through the air hundreds of feet at a time, precious cargo in hand. He could hear the whistling of Tin Man behind him, but since he wasn't firing at him, and since the suit was familiar to him, he ignored it mostly. After he couldn't hear or see the Hulkbuster units any longer (as in he was at least 50 miles away), he set Tony gently on the ground, and he himself fell to the hard earth, his legs burning for having jumped around for hours. The sun was starting to rise, and it warmed his already hot skin even more. Animals began to scurry from their homes, but quickly ran from the sight of him, which made him feel awful. Even nature was afraid of him.

"Hulk want to be left alone anyway," he mumbled under his breath, before looking down at Tony's sleeping form. "But Hulk no have to be alone anymore." 

Jarvis landed nearby, crouching near Tony. He knew Hulk was protective of his creator, so he made sure not to touch him. _Vitals are normal. The drugs did not affect him harmfully,_ the suit declared, rising and backing up. _Powering down- good day._ The lights went out in the eyes of the armor, leaving the suit just standing there staring straight ahead. Seeing as it had been hours already, Tony was starting to stir. He groaned and mumbled something dazedly, curling into a ball. Fuck everything. Light hurt. Moving hurt. Thinking hurt.

The Hulk was a bit confused by the British voice coming form inside the suit, not understanding what it said, and he stared at it until it shut down. It hadn't caused any harm however, so Hulk ignored it. He turned his attention to Tony instead as he began to stir, waiting for him to wake up to see if he was alright. Hulk loomed over him, casting a long dark shadow over the man. 

"... Two bottles of vodka. What the hell.." Tony was mumbling, quite content to lay on the ground for now and sleep whatever this was off. That is, until the brightness on his eyelids was blocked out. He opened his eyes, startled awake. "Oh Jesus fuck! You scared me big guy," he rasped, a hand over his reactor as he tried to catch his breath. Slowly he sat up, groaning and rubbing the back of his neck. "Any idea what happened?" He asked, looking up at him. All he could remember was trying to get some sleep, and then collapsing.

The Hulk jerked back with a slight snarl at Tony's shout, but then inched forward after a moment. Tony wasn't going to attack, he had been scared briefly, he decided.

"Soldiers," he grumbled, not having to say anymore for Tony to understand. 

Tony winced, not having meant to startle him, and rested a hand on his neck. Upon moving his thumb, he felt a tiny bit of dried blood and sighed. He had been darted. Greaaaaaat. 

"And you.. You carried me all the way out here?" He asked, looking around before back up at the Hulk. "You protected me..." One of their biggest concerns had been whether or not the Hulk would understand that, and apparently he had. A grin spread across his face, and he stood slowly. "Thanks big guy. Once again, you have saved my life." Sure they were lost and without any sort of supplies, but they were both alive and free. 

Hulk smiled in reply, a pleasant feeling within him at the praise. 

"Tin M-...To-ny, friend," he said, struggling with remembering his name. It sounded pretty butchered, but he tried. 

Tony grinned hugely, so wide he thought his face might crack. He couldn't help it, the Hulk had called him something other than Tin Man. 

"He-ey, that's right. Tony," he chuckled. He was tempted to hug him, if he didn't think the big guy would hurl him across the forest for it. Or the more likely scenario, hug him back and crush him on accident. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

Hulk looked around himself for a moment, half-knowing he wouldn't find anything (nothing can hurt Hulk, except for maybe hundreds of simultaneous Chitauri lasers being fired on him), and with the exception of several black scorch marks from the Hulkbuster weapons (having used old fashioned bullets, as well as high-tech blasts), he was fine. Mostly, he just felt tired and irritated. He snorted to indicate he was fine, but remained seated on the ground to better speak to Tony. Him, hurt. Tin Man sure had a strange sense of humor. 

Tony came forward slowly, Hulk's eyes on him, an idea in mind. Could the Hulk be put to sleep? If so, then surely it would bring Bruce back. 

"You wanna hear a story Hulk?" He asked, using his actual name like the big guy had used his. It took a bit of climbing and adjusting, but after a moment he managed to sit down on Hulk's big leg, being sure to show no fear about it. He trusted him. "It's a really good story. With lots of smashing and blowing up."

The Hulk's face sparked with interest, and he grinned broadly, only slightly alarmed that Tony had chosen to sit in his lap. More than anything, he was wondering if Tony was going to hurt him or if he was accidentally going to hurt Tony.

Tony didn't move, acting completely comfortable in his lap. It was kinda cuddly- minus the part where Hulk could tear him apart. Could, not would. 

"So, one time this jackass named Justin Hammer thought he could copy my suits. Basically I went to this party, and he showed up with his own suits.." He went on to tell his story with Hammer and Vanko from the part where the fighting began, speaking slowly and elaborating greatly on the explosions and fighting. It wouldn't make a lot of contextual difference without explaining the events at the beginning, but he knew Hulk didn't care about that. It was all about the explosions and fighting. Maybe he'd tell the whole story to Bruce, some day.

Hulk listened, his short attention span wandering off every once in a while, but a mention of the word "smash" or "explosion" usually brought his attention right back. It was a great story, making him excitable, and even angry during the parts where Tony almost got hurt ("Hulk would smash Hammer, like blonde god," he would grumble). After awhile, once the story began to drift into the more boring parts, he began to feel his lids grow heavier. A sense of calm had spread over his body, relaxing his not-so-permanently tense muscles bit by bit. It was incredible, to see the usually angry giant calm and docile.

Tony kept a close eye on the Hulk's temperament, smiling to himself as mean and green began to sag slightly. As usual, his hypotheses held merit, because he was putting the Hulk to sleep with a bedtime story. He went on to describe some of the boring parts, leaving out how he was dying. No need to upset the fella.

Eventually, after Tony's little story was done, the Hulk finally dozed off, his snores rumbling deep in his chest. He slumped forward a bit, before he began to shrink back down to Bruce's normal size, falling back. He had changed completely back to Bruce by the time he hit the ground. And Bruce didn't stir, but remained asleep on the hard ground, sunlight warming his skin and lightening his tangled curls. He looked a wreck, but also strangely peaceful, his breathing deep and even as he slept. And damn it if that wasn't the cutest and heartwarming thing Tony had ever seen.

The engineer climbed off so that he wasn't sitting on Bruce, sighing as the man remained passed out. 

"Well crap.." He muttered, sitting beside the man. He could do nothing but wait, but he kept watch just in case. It would be a long night-or morning, he corrected, squinting at the first rays of sun. He doubted he would get any sleep, but one of them had to stay awake. At least they had escaped their second encounter with Ross unscathed; he hoped it was the last time they had to deal with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short one, I know. 
> 
> A question for the readers: do you prefer shorter, but more frequently posted chapters? Or long chapters that get posted less often? As always, thanks for reading!


	15. Now What?

He felt oddly warm- not like he was wrapped in blankets, but as though his body was just heated. And the bed felt strange- itchier. Slightly wet. _Wait, what?_

Bruce blinked his eyes open and was met with grass and scores of trees surrounding what looked like a small meadow. While the wildflowers were pretty, this was not an exactly ideal situation. More than a little confused at first as to why he was lying on the ground outside a Brazilian forest, and to why a bird was trying to peck his hand off, he realized what had happened in the midst of shooing the brightly colored creature away. He felt pretty well rested, considering the amount of running and jumping it must have taken to get to this spot, and looked around for Tony to try and help gather his bearings. 

Tony wasn't far off, luckily. He'd spent a the past few hours scoping out the area, and so far, they were dead center in the middle of no where. He had no idea what was edible and what wasn't, so he stayed away from the foliage, instead searching for some sort of path. He had been on his way back when he noticed his companion was finally stirring awake. Coming over, he crouched and asked, 

"Hey, how are you feeling? Ross attacked, in case you didn't get that."

Bruce sat up, more groggy than anything else, although his hand hurt now where it met with the bird's beak. 

"M'fine," he mumbled. "Did everything go okay, then? I mean I'm assuming we got away since I'm not locked up right now..." His gaze shifted to the engineer, but the man seemed fine. There had been no injuries this time, a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. Tony just rolled his eyes and sat beside him.

"Well, I have no idea what happened exactly since they deemed it fit to knock me out," Tony huffed, clearly offended even though it was a silly thing to be offended over. "But Big and Green carried me all the way here. He didn't fight them, he protected me instead. I calmed him down by telling him a story, and now here you are," he finished. That was his favorite part- that Hulk went to sleep after a bed time story. This is something Bruce would not be living down.

Bruce was surprised that the soldiers had walked away. If there was one thing that he could always count on, it was the Other Guy going crazy on the Hulkbusters. He almost never left a soldier in one piece. Even Tony had told him that it was okay to smash, so why didn't he? Had he really changed so much in these past few weeks with Tony? Was that really all it took? Just a bit of affection and trust, and the world's scariest monster was a pet.

"Wait, did you say you told him a story? Like a bedtime story? Like a toddler? And he went to sleep?" He asked, bewildered, and more than a little embarrassed. Not that there was any rational reason to be, but he still was nonetheless, and this cheeks burned pink. Tony snorted at Bruce's expression, chuckling at his expense. 

"Yup. Just like a toddler. Told him about that time Justin Hammer tried to copy my suits, and you know, he loved the smashing parts. But then when there wasn't 'smashing' involved, he fell right asleep. It was kind of cute. I sat in his lap," he explained, a smug grin on his face. He loved being right, and he had been right about Hulk.

Bruce's face burned even hotter, and he quickly stood, holding up his ruined pants in a fist at his side. _The Other Guy really was just like an overgrown child..._ he mused to himself. He ran his fingers nervously through his messy hair, looking for a stream or river he might wash up in. They probably weren't going to find any replacement clothes out here, much to his misery. All of their stuff was still in the hut back in with Ross, and going back there was out. It's not like he wasn't used to waking up naked in strange places, but it was still embarrassing. 

"Okay, so we have a couple options," Tony said, trying to be optimistic as he scratched his head and glanced around. "I could carry us both all the way to Brazil, but I don't now how comfortable that would be for you. I can find some sort of town and get whatever clothes and food I can, and we can walk until we find some place. Uh..." He was sort of at a loss as to what to do. His only experience ever in an environment like this was the desert in Afghanistan, and he'd only been stranded for two hours. 

Bruce considered their options. By the looks of the trees in the distance, they had to somewhere near the Amazon (although it wasn't like he was an expert on botany or anything of the sort), so they shouldn't be too far from Brazil, if not just on the the country's border. He was sort of amazed that the Other Guy had taken them this far out. He doubted that they would be able to find such a town as Tony described, since they were so far from civilization, and he didn't really want to be left here alone considering the circumstances. He could take care of himself when it came to the wilderness, but Ross on the other hand...

And walking barefoot through the rainforest wasn't exactly the best idea, considering that they had no idea where they were going, what direction to travel in (since you couldn't even see the sun from the bottom layer), it would be pitch black, and there would be no telling all the poisonous animals and predators in there. So he settled for the first option, and he told Tony as such, explaining his reasoning. 

Tony nodded, the back of his suit opening for him as he stepped into it. They wouldn't last long if they tried to walk, and if he flew away and then couldn't find Bruce again, it would be chaotic.

"Maybe you just like it when I hold you. Or, I'm just returning the favor," he chuckled teasingly, since the Hulk had carried him. Sweeping Bruce into a bridal carry, he flew up into the sky and flew at a slightly slower speed in the direction Jarvis informed him was Brazil. "Sorry, no peanuts- did I already make that joke?" He asked. 

Bruce rolled his eyes at the comment, his cheeks tinging pink at bit as he simultaneously tried to hold onto the suit and his pants. Flying exposed like this always petrified him, and seeing as he was one of the few Avengers that was never required to do so (Thor being the only other exception), it made it all the more terrifying. He tried to keep his heart rate steady the whole way there, doing his best to breathe deeply despite the high altitude.

It turned out he was right in thinking they must've been close, as it only took about 35 minutes before he heard JARVIS speaking to Tony inside the suit. It was faint, and the wind made it especially difficult, but he still managed to make out what he was saying. Something about a nearby town, the details weren't important but the point was that they would be landing soon. Thank god.

Tony slowed them even further, dropping altitude as Jarvis told him where they were. In the distance he could make out what looked like a favela, the perfect place to stay for a little while. He landed rather gently, making sure he set Bruce carefully on his feet before saying, 

"Okay, so I think we should wait until nightfall to sneak the armor in and for the meantime just act like normal people. Unless you have a plan..?" As an afterthought he pulled off his helmet, squinting in the light of day as he removed the rest of his armor and gave Jarvis instructions 

Bruce shook his head to say that he didn't, gathering his wits before following Tony into the crowded slums. It reminded him a lot of his stay in Calcutta, what with all the people and the crowded-ness about it, and he didn't look too out of place with his nearly naked appearance (he really needed to find some pants that fit correctly). He wasn't sure exactly where to go, considering their primary goal right now was to just try and blend in for a while.

They found a few merchant stands, and used some of Tony's money to buy Bruce a change of clothes, which he quickly put on, thanking the merchant as best he could considering he only knew but a few words of Portuguese. 

"Um...obrigado?" he guessed, before heading back to Tony in a semi-fresh pair of pants and a shirt. He still didn't have shoes, but that was probably best anyway, considering that most of the people around them didn't either. "What now?" he asked the billionaire. 

Tony watched him, deciding not to mock his attire. They'd both had a long day. 

"We should probably find a place to stay. Surely someone is renting out little shacks somewhere.. time to start looking," he said with a shrug, strolling down the street. He knew Spanish, but Portugese.. eh. "If we can find none, we'll pitch a tent in the woods. I've always wanted to go camping."

They walked (or more like stumbled, since people kept ramming into them from every direction) for a while, Bruce's legs still sore from the Other Guy gallivanting around earlier. They managed to find a small, rickety shack on the edge of the favela, which was really just an aluminum plate held up by a few sticks of wood. With the exception of having slept on the ground, completely homeless, this was probably the worst conditions he'd stayed in before, and he could only imagine what this might be like for Tony, who'd pretty much had everything he could ever want handed to him on a silver platter his whole life. Not that he was incapable, but when you were handed fortune and became the face of your father's company when you were only 19 or 20, you used that money to your advantage, and possibly even took it for granted. Bruce gave a shrug, muttering, "Could be worse," and looking at Tony to see what he would say. 

Tony stared at their meager shelter, the need to complain rising in his mind. He didn't of course, because now was not a good time to be difficult, but he still grumbled to himself in his mind. 

"Yeah, it could be cold," he sighed with a shrug, seating himself on the ground. "I think I'll miss coffee the most," he said mournfully, looking up at Bruce. He was only half-joking, not really at all, actually. 

Bruce put a show of mock-dismay on his face, sitting down next to Tony. The truth was, he would miss it too. But considering that most of the world's coffee beans came from South America, they'd have to have some somewhere, if they looked hard enough. He tried to focus on the positives, and listed them aloud both for Tony's sake and for his. He had newish clothes now, he had his best friend by his side through this whole mess, JARVIS and the suit were functioning properly, Ross probably had no clue where they were, Pepper was okay, and they had decent weather at the moment. Not bad, by his standards.

Tony nodded absently as Bruce spoke, supposing the man did have a point. It still sucked though. 

"This place is too crowded to introduce the Hulk, though. For the next few days, we should try to find someplace less crowded and.. well, I haven't worked this bit out yet. Do I just ride in on Hulk's shoulder? Fly in as Iron Man? Do you change in front of everyone? Too many variables to work with and not enough research," he muttered, rubbing his temples. 

Bruce considered this, running the situation in his head like an equation. 

"Do you really think that me changing in front of everyone is such a good idea? Isn't that...I don't know, terrifying?" He wasn't being sarcastic, but he honestly had never watched the footage of himself changing, for fear it might trigger something inside him. He had never seen himself change, except for maybe a slight glimpse on a shiny surface, and he was always in too much pain and confusion to really pay attention. "Wouldn't that make people flip out? Someone transforming into a monster right in front of their eyes?"

Tony sighed, knowing Bruce was right. Even if they made it clear that Hulk was no threat, watching someone transform like some sort of were-creature would be freaky.

"Good point. It doesn't scare me, but I can see how it might freak other people out. So.. What then, do you think people might react well if they see me with the Hulk? I'm pretty well known, especially as an Avenger after all," he suggested with a shrug, trying to think of something. 

"I think that'd be our best bet. Your suit is probably more recognizable than well, you, but I think either will work. I'm just worried we might end up scaring these people, making them believe that they're under attack or something. Neither of us are exactly cute and cuddly when we 'suit up'," Bruce opined. A grin formed on Tony's face, making him cringe slightly, because he knew some sort of hairbrained comment was coming next.

"Well, I'm naturally a crowd pleaser, but you could be right. As long as the Hulk stays calm.. There aren't cameras out here at least," Tony said with another shrug, laying down. It was a grim reality, but it was the truth; technology just didn't exist in this part of the world. "Like I said, we'll find a smaller town." 

"Yeah, sounds good," Bruce sighed, stretching out as much as he could under their little shelter, not wanting to take up all of Tony' room either. His muscles felt cramped in the small space, but he ignored his aching legs, and tried to get some rest despite the hustle and bustle of the crowds outside. They would leave their humble abode during the night, when there would be a less likely chance for someone to see where they were headed, and try and find a less populated area. 

Tony just grunted in acknowledgement and curled in on himself, praying this wasn't one of the nights where he had nightmares. In this close space with Bruce.. He didn't want to wake him in the middle of the night, or smack him with a flailing limb. Using his arm as a pillow, he shut his eyes and tried to get some rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming next, Hulk's interaction with people! Much fluff, very domestic, wow.


	16. Meet Hulk

Tony shifted and jerked in his sleep, worrying his lower lip with his teeth. It seemed their luck had just about run out, as he was once again plagued with horror in his sleep. This time it was a mishmash of things, even though they didn't go together. Being darted in the neck and passing out, only to wake up on the table in Afghanistan, screaming as a hole was cut into his chest for the electromagnet. This dissolved into Ross' soldiers with weapons trained on him, yelling for him to build a Jericho missile and the Hulk trying to help him put the Mark I suit together with huge fingers. The worst image by far was of Bruce laying still on a pile of burlap sacks, torso littered with bullet wounds and blood pooling on the cave floor beneath him. Little whimpers escaped Tony's prone form, his breathing erratic as he experienced the horrible dreams.

Tony's twitching and jerks woke Bruce from his sleep, and he shifted to look at the man next to him. He could tell he was having a mad nightmare, and he tried to shake him awake. 

"Tony! It's just a dream, come on, wake up!" Obliviously Tony began to jerk more violently, his limbs hitting Bruce where he lay. He was biting his lower lip, the skin pale under his teeth, and his eyes rapidly moving behind his squeezed lids. Tony looked like a text book case of PTSD, probably the only textbook thing about Tony Stark. Bruce continued to try and wake him, dodging Tony's more violent spasms and flails. It seemed like more of a night terror than a dream.

Tony continued to writhe until Bruce's shaking caused him to come awake all at once, gasping as he struggled to come back to reality. Not really seeing anything around him, he scrambled out of the little hut and staggered into the empty dirt street, panting heavily and fleeing from an unseen foe. He didn't make it far though before he fell to his knees, hugging himself tightly and choking on breathless sobs as blood roared in his ears. He didn't know where he was, but it was hot and loud and he couldn't hear over the gunfire and _screaming_.

Bruce started when Tony finally jolted awake, trying to give him space to breathe and gather his wits. When the billionaire scrambled outside, Bruce quickly followed behind, falling to his knees beside Tony's writhing, balled form. He wrapped his arms around him, so much like he'd done the first time, and held him close as broken sobs racked the man's chest. He could feel the hitch in the engineer's chest as he desperately tried to breathe, and he secured his arms around him. 

"Tony- Tony, it's okay! You're here with me, Bruce, there's no one chasing you," he murmured over Tony's choked sobs. 

Uncharacteristically, Tony gave in quickly and leaned into him, making no effort to conceal the broken sobbing that poured out of him. He hadn't really talked to anyone about anything that had happened since New York or Afghanistan, and so all of those emotions bubbled and fermented inside of him until they forced their way to the surface, like they had now. He couldn't really make sense of anything, could barely breathe even, but he only knew that Bruce was beside him and he was okay. And he really needed that. In a way, it was almost like his own version of Hulking out. One moment an eccentric, sarcastic billionaire, but the slightest thing could set him off into the broken, crushed and sobbing man that Bruce was cradling, without a coherent thought except fear and pain.

Bruce continued to hold Tony as his tears stained his shirt, trying to hold the broken man together with only his arms. Bruce felt a bit uncomfortable, since comforting and consoling others wasn't exactly his area of expertise; he was no therapist, but he held onto the suffering man anyway. If Tony was willing to release some of his demons like this, that meant he trusted Bruce. He doubted that even Pepper had this sort of relationship with him, not that he would know. He rubbed Tony's back in soothing circles, an old trick he'd learned from a Buddhist monk while traveling around India that helped to ease tension in the body and give piece of mind, to better help Tony breathe and relax. 

After about five minutes Tony quieted, no longer sobbing and gasping like a beached fish. He would shiver every once in a while despite the heat, but otherwise it seemed his episode was over. He was too exhausted to even be ashamed this time, just spent and numb. 

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, apologizing like he did every time. Bruce shouldn't have to deal with his trivial problems, shouldn't have to hold him like a child. And yet he selfishly wanted it, was glad that Bruce could hold him. He was safe there in his arms.

Bruce continued to hold him, squeezing Tony closer every time he felt a shiver run down his spine despite the stares of the Brazilians that had begun to emerge from their small homes. He didn't say anything at Tony's apology this time. Tony knew that there was nothing to be sorry for, it was just something he said. He didn't know how to open up to people, and for some reason, he felt like it was something worth apologizing for. After a while, Bruce pulled himself apart from the man in order to see his face. 

"Are you okay now?" he asked softly. 

Tony sat up, wiping his eyes dry and raking his fingers through his hair. "Yeah. Thanks," he said hoarsely, not seeming to mind the stares they received. He rose on shaky legs, nearly stumbling but managing to catch himself. His anxiety was the last thing he wanted to talk about, or even dwell on in his own head. "We.. We should probably get going," he mumbled, giving his head a good shake to clear it. 

"Yeah," Bruce sighed, picking himself up off the ground. He wouldn't push Tony to talk if the man wasn't ready. One day, maybe, but now wasn't the time.

As morning broke they made their way along the edge of the favela, receiving stares from many of the people for most of the way. _I guess people like_ to gossip, Bruce thought bitterly, hoping it wouldn't bother Tony. 

The man in question didn't miss the stares, his eyes narrowing slightly. He muttered something offensive in Spanish, not Portugese but the languages were similar enough. A few of the bystanders got it and looked away, ranging from embarrassed to offended. He couldn't have cared less.

As they reached the edge of the town he called his suit to him, holding still while it assembled on him piece by piece. Finally he could hide, out of sight and private. "Lets find a small town and stay the night, if you're up to it we can start in the morning," Tony said tiredly, gazing at Bruce through his interface. Bruce nodded in agreement, standing awkwardly so that Tony could pick him up with his suit, as if he hadn't felt embarrassed enough today (mostly about the pantsless situation earlier). With a quick sweep of his arms Tony picked him up, and then they were off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When morning finally rolled around, Tony peeled his eyes open. Unable to find shelter the night prior, they had picked the tree least infested with bugs and laid down for the night. The engineer hadn't slept, merely shut his eyes and thought about things for hours. It was almost peaceful out in the Amazon, if not for the thoughts that picked at his mind. Gently he shook Bruce, trying to wake him. 

"Come on big guy, opening night. Big showcase," he coaxed. At least one of them had gotten some sleep.

Bruce started awake, sitting up and blinking his eyes a few times. He was a bit jumpy at the moment, being so close to his "big showcase." Quite frankly, he was terrified. He looked over at Tony, at the dark smudges under his eyes, and frowned. It looked like he didn't sleep at all. 

"Ehem- morning," he gruffed, clearing his throat of morning grogginess. Absently he wiped some dirt from his cheek with the palm of his hand. He was used to being dirty constantly, but after a while at the tower with real showers, he was starting to loathe it. Tony's time of need was over, he knew Bruce needed the support now. 

"It'll be okay Bruce. If he panics, I'll get him out of town. If the people panic, I'll try and talk to them. Actually- why don't I go into town and see if I can find a translator? Tell him to translate when I come back in a big metal suit- I'll even pay them," he said, getting up and dusting himself off. Work was so much easier to focus on, or rather, lose himself in, when he had a problem weighing over him. Like post traumatic stress disorder. Bruce nodded in agreement, standing with a hand up from Tony.

"Sounds good," he said absently, lost in thought. He ran all the variables in his head several times, trying to come up with the probability of something going wrong, and the optimum way to make things go smoothly. Falling back on math and science gave him a sort of comfort, one that he even had when he was a kid, besides his mother. He didn't even see Tony fly off, still sitting in the dirt, trying to prepare himself for everything. The last time he'd Hulked out anywhere other than New York was in Harlem, and that hadn't exactly ended all that well. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony tried for a different tactic than usual and flew straight into town, landing in the center of a very busy marketplace. He didn't land near anyone, though. There were assorted gasps and shouts, people pointing and whispering amongst themselves. He waved, being sure not to seem threatening, then flipped up the face mask. It was then that he realized his problem.

"Crap, I don't speak Portuguese.. Yes, I am Iron Man! Hablan ingles? Hablan ingles?" He called out to the watchers, wondering if anyone understood. "Does anyone speak both English and Portugese?" Just when he thought he was screwed, someone came forward, an older gentlemen with a slightly more professional air to him. 

"You are.. The IronMan?" Tony couldn't help but grin as he beckoned the elder over.

"Yup that's me. So listen, I need a favor.."

Ten minutes and a very convincing speech later he flew into the air, waving to the people. 

"I'll be right back! Uh.. Regresaria!" He called flying back off towards the woods. Okay, so once people knew he was a hero they were calm.. How would they handle Hulk? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bruce's eyes flickered upwards as Tony returned and he stopped in the middle of his pacing, which he had started to do a few minutes earlier. "So, how did it go?" he asked nervously. If the people hadn't even reacted positively well to Iron Man, then they'd run screaming from Hulk.

"Pretty well. More than anything I think they were just surprised to see a suit of armor flying around. You know how it is," Tony sniffed confidently, patting Bruce's arm. "Don't worry. It'll be fine- I've got a translator waiting, and they know I'm coming back. As long as the Hulk stays calm, and doesn't smash, everything will work out," Tony assured him.

Not wanting to wait anymore in fear of losing all his resolve, Bruce nodded and closed his eyes, pulling the Other Guy's presence forward. He sent a final mental plea as he himself shifted underneath the other's suffocating presence to not do anything stupid, before he was enveloped in black.

The Hulk stood in Bruce's place, instantly recognizing Tony in his suit. He grinned, leaning forward and resting his large fists on the ground in that very ape-like manner of his, excited to see Tony in red and gold again. The suit meant smashing, and he was always eager to smash.

"Hey big guy! Good to see you again," Tony greeted, shifting his weight. Now came the tricky part-convincing Hulk. "I want to show you to some people today, alright? People. We want them to see how cool Hulk is, but you can't smash. Think you can do that?" He asked, hoping against hope that he would comply. "If you be calm and don't smash in front of the people, we can smash as long as you like when we get away from the people. Deal? They won't hurt Hulk." The words came out in a bit of rush, but with everything they had riding on this initial moment, he couldn't help a little bit of anxiety. He quickly brushed it off, though.

Hulk's grin disappeared. He was more than a little hesitant to comply with what Tony wanted, considering the last time he saw people, they were firing lasers at him and showering him with bullets. Not only that, but Bruce's anxiety and fear had begun to feed into his rage, and he fumed not-so silently, tearing apart trees and causing clods of dirt to rain down on the both of them. A voice in the back of his mind tried to remind him that there was a difference between soldiers and people, but it was drowned out by anger, and the Hulk outwardly began to resemble his classic persona of blind rage rather than the one that Tony had began to see over the past weeks. Tony was still his friend, but he didn't want to be anywhere near people: he just wanted to be left alone. 

Tony staggered back, eyes widening slightly as the Hulk started to get angry. He wasn't afraid of Hulk hurting him directly, but by accident was a real possibility.

"People! Not soldiers! People! They won't hurt Hulk, they just want to see you!" He tried, holding up his hands as he tried to calm the big guy down. Crap! An idea came to mind then, a horrible idea, but what choice did he have? Throwing caution to the wind (not for the first time), he stepped out of his suit and ran to stand in front of the Hulk, bracing for impact in case he we struck. "People- like me! Hulk, you have to stop!" 

A large green arm raised itself to swat the person in front of him away, a snarl on his lips, when an alarm began to blare in the back of Hulk's mind. He stopped himself, instead turning slightly and bringing his massive fist down on the ground beside Tony, trying to ease some of the anger boiling inside him. Dirt flew everywhere, covering Tony in a thick layer of it. The Hulk staggered back, angry and ashamed for having come so close to crushing his only friend when he'd worked so hard to be careful around him in the past. 

"People. Not soldiers..." he repeated in a gruff voice.

Tony brought up his hands and shielded his face a moment too late, coughing and spitting up dirt. He was covered in it now, but that was the least of his worries. Wiping the debris out of his eyes, he looked back up at Hulk. 

"People, like me. Weak people, puny people who can be smashed easily," he said carefully. "If you want Ross to go away, you have to show people that you are good. And you are good, Hulk."

Hulk's thick brows stitched themselves together as he thought slowly through the anger. "Hulk good," he said carefully in agreement. He felt the rage begin to ebb away, and he breathed deeply through his nose, lips pressed together in a hard line. He'd never concentrated more than he was now, fighting away his primal urge to smash everything and anything in sight. Tony wasn't a threat; he was a friend. 

Tony knew better than to touch him now; Hulk wasn't exactly like a human in the sense that he would see that as comforting. 

"Yes, Hulk is good. You didn't smash me just now, and that's good. The people just want to see you. If the people see you, then they don't hate Hulk. If they like Hulk, then they hate Ross," he tried to explain, using his small child voice as he usually did to talk to Hulk. The big guy seemed to understand better when Tony referred to him as Hulk instead of you.

"Ross make everyone hate Hulk! And Banner! People think Hulk is a monster, not good?" he asked angrily. What difference would anyone seeing him make? They would just run away and scream at him. Not only did he feel angry at everything Ross had done to him, but he felt hopeless too. Nothing he did would make any difference in the way people saw him. That's why he was better off alone, er- well, alone with his Tin Man. "Why would they like Hulk?" he grumbled. 

Tony certainly had his work cut out for him, putting this together. He pressed onward. "They have to get to know you! They only know Ross, so they just believe what he says. But, if they saw you, and what a great person you are, then they would know that Ross is lying. They don't know any better, that's why we teach them. You can do that, can't you?" Tony prompted, looking up at him. That hopeless face was enough to melt anyone's heart.

Hulk thought about this, and after a moment nodded slowly, still hesitant, but willing to follow Tony's lead. He trusted him, probably even more than Hulk trusted Banner, and they were the same person! The possibility of not living as an outcast for the rest of his life was definitely appealing, and he couldn't remember a time when he was happier (rather than feeling nothing but rage) than when he was with Tony. He certainly felt a lot better when the Tin Man started smiling again.

"Great. Just remember not to smash, and don't hurt people. They might be scared at first, but we'll show them that you won't hurt them. C'mon big guy," Tony said, climbing back into the suit. The eyes flashed to life and he flew up, checking everything before turning to the Hulk. "Follow me. Just go slow and don't touch people, okay?" He asked, leading the way slowly back towards town without waiting for an answer.

Hulk followed, and they made the trip pretty quickly, despite their slow pace. He looked around as people stared, some whispering and some shouting things at him in an unknown language. Some tried to run away, and a couple began to throw things at him. He tried to remain calm, keeping his eyes on Tony's suit instead, and trying to ignore the gawking people below. He held his lumbering arms close to his body, so as to not accidentally break anything or anyone. His big frame was so awkward among all these small bodies, and they were in an open space. He was uncomfortable to say the least, and if you knew who he really was, you could say he resembled Banner in the way he tried to avoid anything that came his way, coupled with his nervous stature. The big guy resembled a wild animal placed in a domestic home; he didn't understand anything around him, and he wanted to leave as soon as possible. 

Tony jetted up and caught a can intended for Hulk's head as it was thrown, frowning at the assembled mass of people. "Hey! Stop that," he exclaimed, his eyes scanning the crowd until he found his translator. The man looked just about as surprised as everyone else, but not as afraid. Tony had explained everything to him beforehand, and it had taken some convincing, but eventually he agreed to translate for them. Tony got the guy's attention and nodded before saying, "We are Avengers." The crowd started to quiet with Iron Man floating above them, the nervous translator repeating what had been said. "When a man tried to take over the world, we stopped him. I am Iron Man, and this is Hulk. He is a hero, like me. He won't hurt anyone." He listened as the man translated, watching the crowd for some sort of reaction. 

The large crowd murmured and whispered among themselves, eyes shifting from the hulking brute to the shiny flying machine in front of them. A few had access to tv, and had seen what had happened in New York. They remembered seeing them there, and how they had saved the world.

The people's murmured and stares were making Hulk twitchy, him not being used to having so many people around. He was about to turn and leave, when a boy of probably about 7 broke away from his mother and brothers, running over to him and inclining his head to see his massive form. He held a small green rag; it was bunched together at the sides to resemble a head, arms, and legs, and it had 2 black eyes in the middle of it's head. He held it up to the big green man, asking questioningly, 

"Você realmente dele?" The Hulk stared at the boy, unsure what to do. He had never seen someone so small, and he couldn't understand a word that he said. 

Tony couldn't help but stare along with the crowd, dumbfounded. That little boy.. Could either prove their point or ruin everything, depending on how Hulk reacted. He landed a few feet away, giving them some space. 

"Hulk," he began, looking between them, "I know you don't understand him. I don't either. Remember: gentle. I think that doll is supposed to be you, he's your fan. He likes you." He looked to the translator for help.

The Hulk leaned forward, trying to get as close to the ground as possible to look at the boy. The confusion showed clearly on his face, and he looked at Tony, unsure. The boy brought his hand to the Hulk's own, looking so small and fragile against his dark green skin, pulling away slightly from the heat the Hulk gave off. The giant jumped back at first, startled, but after a moment he inched forward again, curiosity in his eyes. He was about to reach up and pat the boy, but remembered Tony's warning not to from before, and instead lifted his hand to pick the boy up, causing gasps and shouts in Portuguese to fly from the spectators' mouths. He was as gentle as he could, and he simply let the boy sit in his open palms, both studying each other, before the boy smiled. 

Tony raised his hands towards the crowd in a calming gesture, drawing on what little he knew of Portugese. 

"Facil! Facil! Não perigoso!" He looked to the translator again, who helped him call out that the Hulk wasn't dangerous. When nothing bad happened between the pair he waved a hand at the two, talking while he was translated by the old man. "See? He is not a danger. Hulk is a hero. We are Avengers, we protect people."

Tony's shouting drew his attention away from the boy for a moment, and the boy took the opportunity to scamper up the Hulk's arm to sit on his shoulder. This was more than startling to the green goliath, who stared at him in alarm, his green eyes wide, but they softened a bit when he saw the awed look on the boy's face. It was so strange to have someone just come near him, much less crawl around him and sit on his shoulders. He roared enthusiastically, making a huge grin spread across the boy's tanned cheeks, and a few of the spectators laughed, although most seemed terrified. 

Tony landed again and stepped out of the suit, holding up his hands. Well.. He would just have to try Spanish.

"Yo soy Tony Stark. Yo soy muy rico, y un heroe. Este persona es un heroe tambien," he said, waving a hand at the Hulk. The man translated this as well, just in case. He at least seemed to understand that the Hulk wouldn't hurt anyone. Walking over to his green friend, Tony patted his leg. "See? He will not hurt this boy. He will not hurt anyone. He is a good person, and only attacks bad people." 

The crowd began to settle down, most of them understanding Tony's message. The Hulk held his hand up to his shoulder, allowing the boy to hold on to a few of his fingers as set him back down on the ground, waving and proceeding to walk over to his very worried mother. His brothers seemed overly excited and even a little jealous, speaking rapidly in Portuguese. Hulk looked at Tony then, unsure of what to do now. 

"Good job," Tony said quietly, giving the Hulk a big grin. "Give a wave." He clambered back into his suit, waving at the crowd before boosting into the air and doing complicated backflips and somersaults overhead. "Thanks for your time people. If the world ever needs saving, you can count on us." He felt cheesy saying it, but it got their point across. "Come on big guy, time to go," he called, going slowly out of town. He made sure the big guy followed though, to ensure that they didn't get separated. They needed to leave fast before Ross could catch their trail from here.

Hulk gave them a wave like Tony said (really he just stuck his hand up in the air and looked confused before dropping it again) and he followed Tony out of the town. He could hear people cheering and shouting for Iron Man, and even a few Hulks in the wall of noise. They were shouting his name.. in praise. Without fear. People weren't afraid of him, they even _liked_ him. It made Hulk smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The only really necessary translation is this one:
> 
> Yo soy Tony Stark. Yo soy muy rico, y un heroe. Este persona es un heroe tambien.
> 
> I am Tony Stark. I am very rich, and a hero. This person is a hero too. 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading!


	17. Tension Rising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait! For all of my loyal readers, thank you so much for sticking with me! I've had a rough time lately and I have less free time now, but I'll try to keep updating.

Once they were outside the town and back to their awful excuse for a camp, Hulk began to shutter, giving control back to Bruce and changing form. The man dropped exhaustively to his knees, his palms hitting the earth and putting him on all fours. He breathed heavily, head hung low between his arms. "So, how'd it go?" he asked lightly, obviously expecting the worst. It was impossible not to, with his track record.

Tony landed and stepped out of the suit once more, still coated from head to toe in dirt. That had gone well considering, and if they tried it next in a place where people had seen the Avengers on tv.. well, it could only go better from there. 

"It went great. At first Hulk didn't seem happy about it, and people did freak out, but they seemed to get it after I explained. And this kid, Bruce I gotta say it was adorable, this kid comes up and starts talking to Hulk. And then he picked the boy up and he sat on the big guy's shoulder; they were both lit up like Christmas had come early. People cheered, Bruce. I'd say mission success," Tony said cheerfully, crouching down beside the heaving man. Bruce gave a tired thumbs up, shakily climbing to his feet. He eyed Tony wearily, holding up his pants with one hand. 

"Why the hell are you so filthy?" he asked bluntly. If everything had gone so well, then why did it look like Tony had been rolling around on the ground all afternoon? He didn't even comment on the obvious, "he picked the boy up and he sat on the big guy's shoulder" thing, because at this point he wasn't that surprised. Tony had been able to bring out a goodness in the Other Guy that he hadn't even known existed, and there seemed to be a new story every time he came back from a transformation. He was just relieved everything had worked out. 

Oh, right. That part. Tony tilted his head down and brushed dirt out of his hair. 

"Well, you know how I said he was angry earlier? I may have been understating it a little bit. I tried to reason with him while he was pounding away and he almost crushed me, but at the last second punched the dirt instead. I got a free shower," he said, indicating his filthy body as he wiggled a finger in his ear. 

Bruce's eyes grew wide. "What? You mean he almost _killed_ you?!" He was starting to freak out, but he tried to keep his exterior smooth and calm, even though he was screaming internally. Tony walked in front of the Other Guy when he was in the middle of a goddamn tantrum?! Yeah, there go the legs. He slid down the base of a nearby tree to avoid completely falling on his face. Tony became alarmed and rushed forward, not realizing his nonchalance could have this affect on the man. 

"Woah! Easy Bruce! It was my fault, okay? I needed him to listen to me, and if he thought I could get hurt, there was no way he would have done something. Trust me, I knew what I was getting into. And he didn't kill me either. I'm fine, and he looked plenty sorry about it. Just.. calm down," he said in a rush. 

"You're damn right it's _your_ fault! What were you thinking?! You walked right under the _Hulk's_ fists while he was raging! And you think it's all fine and dandy because you walked away this time?! Do you realize what that would do to me?! To know that I had killed my best friend?!" Bruce yelled shakily, his heart pounding. He didn't bother using his little nickname for the Hulk. Tony's little stunt coupled with his exhaustion had left no room for his usual gentleness and calm, and the fact that he had just changed back meant that there was almost no chance of the Other Guy coming out. 

Guilt and shame flooded the engineer, and a touch of hurt, though he knew he had no right to be hurt. "Bruce I.. I'm sorry," he said, helping to ease him to the ground and taking a step back. "I just trusted him, and I thought y'know, this is our only chance, and surely he wouldn't hit me, which he didn't, and I'm sorry Bruce, I wasn't thinking.." he rambled, suddenly unable to look at him. Only now was he realizing that his actions affected Bruce too, and would have in a horrible way if Hulk had not held back.

Bruce took a deep breath, trying to calm the erratic thumping in his chest. He had to remind himself that Tony was just a reckless person, it was in his nature to act without thinking. He wasn't doing it out of spite, or to hurt him. He was doing it to help him, to help the both of them. But it didn't ease the feeling in Bruce's stomach, and he continued to try and breathe as Tony avoided his gaze, so much like Bruce had done when he had first met Tony on the Helicarrier all those months ago. 

"I know...it's okay," he sighed, not trusting himself to say anything else. 

Tony nodded and cleared his throat, thoroughly scolded. What had he been thinking? Mentally kicking himself, he managed, "I'm gonna go uh.. get us something to eat. I'll.. be back." He pulled his hood up so as to be less recognizable, quickly fleeing before Bruce could stop him. _That's right, Tony,_ he thought in disgust. _Run away. Run and hide from your problems just like you always do. That'll make it better. And while you're at it, go get drunk. Nothing to lose now, right?_ He scowled to himself, knowing he was retreating and not caring. Run from emotions, drown everything, it was the only way he knew how to cope.

Bruce sighed, watching as Tony retreated away with his back to him, and he closed his eyes for a moment. He leaned against the tree, trying to relax and slow the thoughts raging in his mind. They both needed some space and a little time to cool down. 

He decided to look around for a mint or coca leaf or something to hold him off until dinner, or to possibly make some tea (with the mint leaf, obviously). It was quite the search, but he finally found a wild plant that resembled the picture in his head, and he picked a few before returning to their crappy camp site. He had begun working on his second mint leaf when he heard soft footsteps coming from around the corner. 

The person that rounded the corner was not Tony, to his surprise, but a little boy. He clutched a ragged green doll close to his chest, blinking in surprise when he saw Bruce. He didn't know who the man was, but as proved before, he was a curious little guy. "São você extraviado?" He asked, peering at the unkempt man.

Bruce blinked in surprise at the unfamiliar native. He looked to be about seven or eight, either dirty from being poor or playing in the dirt. 

"Um, I'm sorry. I don't speak Portuguese," he said weakly, shrugging his shoulders slightly to show that he didn't understand. He ran a hand through his hair, causing clumps of dirt to fall down onto his shoulders and in his eyes. He blinked trying to clear them, looking at the boy again, not knowing what to say. 

The boy shrugged and sat, crossing his legs and looking up at him. He didn't understand what the man had said, but he understood the word Portuguese. "Hablas Espanol?" He asked, since he spoke Spanish too. A lot of the people in their town were either Spanish or Portuguese. You just learned both, really.

Bruce nodded. At least he'd be able to understand a little of what the boy said. "Así que, ¿cuál es su nombre?" he asked somewhat brokenly, knowing he'd messed up when the boy's face scrunched in confusion. So maybe his Spanish was a bit rusty.

The boy tilted his head and giggled- this man talked funny. Still, he understood the question well enough. "Soy Amando, y usted?" He asked, cuddling his little doll close to his chest.

"Me llamo Bruce," he said, smiling as the boy giggled. He didn't really get to be around kids much, unless they were sick, and he usually had a worried parent breathing down his neck the whole time. So this was nice,especially since there was no chance of hurting him.

"¿Qué estás haciendo aquí?" he asked. 

"Estoy buscando para el," Amando said excitedly, holding up his little doll. He was looking for his hero, the man who had picked him up and saved the world too. He worshiped the Hulk, though his fearlessness was more innocent than Tony's. He didn't think the creature even could hurt him. "Me gusta el, esta el heroe de mi! Lucha contra los criminales, y salvo el mundo!" He made smashing sounds with his mouth at the criminals part, giving Bruce a gap-toothed grin.

Bruce was able to understand some of it; it sounded like the boy was looking for the Other Guy? He actually took a good look at the doll in his arms, and the green figure pretty much confirmed this. The enthusiasm on Amando's face showed how much he seemed to idolize him, which made Bruce blush slightly, for some reason. 

"Uh- Lo siento, él no está aquí. Sólo yo," he said apologetically, shrugging slightly. 

The boy looked crestfallen for a moment, then seemed to pick himself up out of it. "Es bien. El llego a mi pueblo hoy- y el era muy grande! Permitio mi a me siento en el hombro de el!" He went on, stroking the head of his doll. It was easy to tell he was young from the way he talked- as though his grammar wasn't fully developed yet.

Bruce nodded, mostly going off of the boy's body language rather than his speech, since he had such a hard time understanding it. He picked a few words from the excited chattering, and gathered that this must've been the boy that Tony had mentioned earlier, the one that the Other Guy had made friends with. This brought a smile to his face, knowing that his other persona had been able to make friends with a boy like this, one that was so kind and curious and warm. He talked to him for a bit, about various things, mostly the Hulk, since that's what seemed to spark Amando's interests. They talked about his two brothers, too, which Bruce listened more intently to. Their communication was broken, but they managed, and after awhile, Bruce could hear another set of footsteps approaching, probably Tony's by the sound of them. 

Tony- well, Tony had done it. He carried plenty of money with him, so he had of course taken his time on the errand. And that meant he had gotten drunk in an alley and then bought their meal from a vendor who probably thought he was nuts. He managed not to trip on the way back, though every now and then he would stumble. 

"He-ey!" He hiccuped, setting down the food next to Bruce and nearly keeling over. "I remember you! What's up little buddy?" Of course, Amando recognized him- he had only seen one person so filthy today. "Hombre de Hierro?" He asked, voice full of wonder. Either the man's drunkenness didn't bother him, or he didn't notice. Bruce frowned deeply at Tony's drunken appearance, but a slight smile found it's way to his lips at Amando's wonder at 'Iron Man'. It was cute, and it distracted him from Tony's drunken-self, which he felt he needed to keep his sanity. He took the food from Tony's hand without a word, eating quietly while Amando started at Tony in awe. 

"That's me, the one and only," Tony replied, ruffling the boy's hair. "Whatcha doing out here, kid?" The boy just stared at him, not understanding, and after a few moments of blank staring the engineer finally understood. "Right, right, don't speak English. Well, you should get back little fella. Va a sus casa," he said, not giving him a chance to ask about where the Hulk was. Begrudgingly the boy agreed, throwing his arms around his neck for a hug. He did the same with Bruce, grinning innocently. "Adios, Bruce," he said cheerfully, dashing off with a wave and a few words over his shoulder. "Cute kid," Tony said, blinking his bloodshot eyes several times and reaching for food.

Bruce smiled as the boy wrapped his arms around his neck, bringing a hand up to his back in return. Amando ran off, and Bruce smiled, hoping he got back okay. He then turned to Tony, his smile fading, and he ate his food in silence, trying his best not to get angry with the drunk engineer. After all, this was how he dealt with his problems, with his feelings, by drinking them away. He wished so much that the man wouldn't, but that didn't stop him, and really, Bruce was too tired to really get angry at this point.

Tony was quiet after the kid left, and it became clear that he had been keeping up an appearance of cheerfulness for the boy. He was still sulking really, and now that he was drunk, he was hurt too. How dare Bruce yell at him? Most of this was his fucking idea anyway, shouldn't the doctor trust him by now? He knew what he was doing! But no, careful, nervous Nelly Bruce had to scream at him. Wallowing in self pity, he shifted so that his back was against the trunk and refused to look at Bruce.

Bruce had finished eating his meal a while ago, but he continued to study Tony out of the corner of his eye. His sullenness was obvious to anyone who got a decent look at him, and it made Bruce feel a guilty pang in his chest. He hadn't meant putting Tony in this situation, hadn't meant to yell at him like that, but he still felt that it needed to be said. Tony needed to be pulled back every once in awhile. He sighed and settled down on the cool dirt, mumbling a tired "G'night" and falling asleep.

His guilt and anxiety manifested itself in his dreams. He didn't let anything show though, after having spent years learning how to cover up his nightmares, and the only thing that indicated his troubled sleep was the occasional twitch or mumble about having Tony's blood on his hands... 

Tony didn't respond, just went on sulking. Eventually he passed out, and slept almost as fitfully as Bruce. However, he never got into a full blown panic attack like he had the night before, just random snippets of nightmares that weren't enough to wake him. It was hellish to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRANSLATIONS (In order of appearance)  
> Boy: Are you lost?  
> Boy: Do you speak Spanish?  
> Bruce: I speak it, which is your name?  
> Boy: I am Amando, and you?  
> Bruce: My name is Bruce.   
> Bruce: What are you doing here?  
> Boy: I am looking for him.  
> Boy: I like him, he is my hero! He fights criminals, and he saved the world!  
> Bruce: I'm sorry, he isn't here. Only me.  
> Boy: It is okay. He came to my village today- and he was very big! He let me sit on his shoulder!  
> Boy: Iron Man?  
> Tony: Go home.


	18. Down to the river

Bruce was already awake by the time Tony woke from his drunken stupor, and he had managed to find some eggs and a sheet of metal upon which to cook breakfast. It wasn't much, but coupled with the tea, it was as good a breakfast as it was going to get out here. He made a small fire and began to cook them, blowing onto the embers every so often, until Tony began to stir. He set a couple of them down next to his slumbering form, and then left to go for a walk, so he wasn't around when Tony fully awoke.

He felt drained from the night before, and knew that Tony would probably be suffering from a hangover, and he just didn't have the energy to deal with it right now. Bruce hated the way things had ended last night, when really there was no reason to fight at all. Sometimes it felt like they were an old married couple, and he shivered at the thought. He resolved that he would have to try and attempt patch up their friendship when he got back, before Tony decided to leave for good. Of course, he assumed Tony would be angry with him still. Angry and ready to leave.

But he was wrong.

Tony finally opened his eyes with a groan and regretted it immedieately. Nope. Too bright. He waited a few minutes before chancing it again, easing himself into a siting position. There were eggs and tea next to him, as well as a small fire, but his traveling companion was no where to be found. Considering Tony's past, it was safe to say he never thought rationally. Now this coupled with a hangover and the fight yesterday stirred some pretty irrational thoughts in his mind. Bruce had clearly left him- obviously, since he wasn't present. But to Tony, it appeared as though he had really left, for good, because why would he want a miserable bastard like Tony for a friend? He had made this meal his parting gift and fled, leaving the engineer on his own. It didn't seem very farfetched, given Bruce's timid nature and likelihood to avoid confrontation. So he'd run out on the engineer. Abandonment issues had always been a struggle for Tony, but this was different. He knew Howard didn't love him, so that wasn't hard to get over. Obadiah had betrayed him, but the wound had healed (and scarred, admittedly). Pepper's threat to leave him before his final fight with Vanko might have been worse had he not been fighting for his life. But this was Bruce, this was the man who would talk about science with him, who had allowed the engineer to tag along and trusted him with his darker side. And even the troubled, lonely scientist had decided Tony wasn't good enough.

Before he even knew what he was doing he was scrambling to his feet haphazardly, starting to hyperventilate as he sought out his friend. He could fix it, he just needed to apologize, and beg and plead, and oh god he was all alone again- 

"BRUCE!" He cried, stumbling as his vision blurred. He was having another panic attack and no one could help him, Bruce had abandoned him just like everyone else and he was all alone.

Bruce heard Tony's cry from where he was, since he hadn't gone too far from their camp in the first place. The fear in Tony's voice alarmed him, and he ran back to see what was wrong. Had Ross found them? Was Tony in trouble? He could barely keep up with himself, he was running so fast.

He broke through the trees to discover Tony staggering around their camp, having a full blown panic attack. _Jesus! What Happened?_

"Tony, what is it?" He asked, still worried that someone or something had tried to attack Tony while he was gone. 

Tony managed two steps in Bruce's direction before he fell, shuddering violently and struggling to breathe. He.. Wasn't abandoned? He wasn't all alone again? "I'm.. Sorry," he rasped, clutching his head in his hands and rocking slightly as he went through the throes of his anxiety attack. "Imsorryimsorryimsorryimsorry-" he wheezed, still struggling. Maybe Bruce was here to watch him and jeer, or kick him when he was down, or maybe even to revoke their friendship. It made more sense- who would want to miss the most confident man in the world brought to his knees? Despite his frantic thoughts, Bruce knelt down beside Tony, holding him to try and quiet his harsh breathing and lessen his shaking. 

"It's okay, I'm not going anywhere," he assured softly. His own heart beat frantically in his chest. He had never seen Tony look so broken before, even in the midst of the last two anxiety attacks. He looked so open, exposed, more like a nerve than Bruce had ever felt. Tears fell down his dirt-covered cheeks, and after a moment he stopped fighting them, allowing them to flow freely. It was strange how much closer they had grown on the run, at how vulnerable he had seen Tony when no one else had. Did Pepper ever hold him like this, trying to help him cope? Did she even know? And to think that Tony was in this condition just because he walked away made Bruce feel sick.

This time Tony openly clung to Bruce, apparently determined to make him understand. "I t-thought you l-left me just like everyone else. I-I thought.. I finally fucked up too badly," he stuttered quietly, trying to make him understand. His mother was the only one who ever really cared about him during his childhood besides Jarvis, and his father had taken that from him too. Tony was a lonely person, and no one ever saw that. Of course they didn't- no one had ever gotten this close to him before. Pepper didn't even know he had nightmares. "Please don't leave me. Don't leave me," he begged, and at this point he was crying too. Not full blown sobbing like the last time, but quiet tears that tracked their way down his face, the quiet kind that accompanied broke desperation. Bruce couldn't leave him too.

Bruce nodded in understanding, repeatedly murmuring that he knew. "I'm not going anywhere, Tony, I promise." And that was a promise he intended to keep. Bruce knew what it was like to be lonely, despite the ever present presence in his mind, and he had a tendency to run from his problems, to hide. Even as a child he would run from the bullies at school and from his piece of crap father when he came home too high and smashed to care that he was beating his son within an inch of his life. But he wasn't going to abandon Tony; if he would be running anywhere, Tony would be there with him.

The pair of them just sat like that for a while, both of them silent and apparently grieving for one another. It seemed that this was their dynamic- Tony freaked out, Bruce comforted him. He knew he had problems--a lot of problems--but it seemed like he had found one person who could deal with it. For whatever reason, Bruce saw everything that Tony really was and managed to be his friend despite it. 

"Thank you. I promise to be more careful," he croaked in a rare display of humility, his head aching.

Bruce released a shaky sigh, and smiled weakly at Tony, having finally calmed down enough to form a coherent sentence. "Yeah..." he answered shakily. He was glad for the privacy of their little camp, it meant they didn't have to deal with rude stares like they did before. He leaned back, resting on the palms of his hands against the ground, Tony's head still in his lap. It should have been awkward, but it wasn't. Soothing the man this way felt natural.

Tony finally allowed himself to be truly comforted, his eyes closing for a moment as he gathered himself. He didn't feel awkward really, just relieved. However, he knew he couldn't stay there forever, and sat up slowly. He didn't say anything at first, just dried his eyes. 

"We could really use a shower," he said at last, trying and failing to brush dirt off of himself. It was all over, crusted to his skin and in the worst crevices imaginable. 

Bruce chuckled lightly, really noticing for the first time how filthy both of them were. It was a good thing no one was around to see them.

"Yeah, that's probably best. Amando told me that there was a river a couple of miles from here," he offered, standing from his position in the dirt and brushing himself off.

Rolling to his feet, Tony nodded and stretched. His stomach gave an undignifed rumble just then, and he chuckled sheepishly before picking up the eggs that had been left for him. "I'll um, eat while we walk."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sure enough, there had been a river. Being the compulsive man he was, Tony had jumped right in and stripped naked afterwards, meaning all of his clothes were soaked. Bruce had opted to disrobe before getting in. Now both were enjoying the water, floating along with the slow current but never letting their clothes get out of sight on the bank. It felt good to have dirt and exhaustion washed away.

Seeing that they were on good terms again, Tony took the chance to ask, "So where to next? It's your turn to pick."

Bruce shrugged, now completely relaxed in the water. "At this point, I couldn't really care less where we went," he admitted. "Maybe somewhere a bit higher up on the developed nations list? Normally I come to these places to help people, but seeing as I have no medical supplies..." He trailed off. It felt weird to not being treating sick people in these places, but for once he had his own problems to deal with.

"Yeah, someplace with real coffee," Tony sighed wistfully, swirling his hand in small circles through the water. Then he sat up as his brain caught up with him, looking at Bruce. "Wait.. Do you want a medical kit? I'm sure I can find one," he offered. Bruce opened an eye and peered over at Tony before closing it again. 

"Yeah, decent coffee is always good. And, um, sure. I mean it could come in handy for us later, and I feel like I've sort of been sitting on my hands out here when I could be helping these people out," he mused. 

"You should've told me, I'd have gotten you one. I don't know the first thing about medical.. Stuff, but I could try to help," Tony said with a shrug, peeling a leaf off the reactor. Good thing it was waterproof. Bruce smiled a bit. 

"Well, thanks. And it, uh, just wasn't that much of a priority at the time, I guess," he said, thinking back on everything that had happened over the past weeks. They'd had access to plenty of first aid kits back in Costa Rica, so he hadn't really thought on it too much since then. He'd been more worried about getting Tony better, and trying to control the Other Guy. But if things were going more smoothly now, he supposed they could make time to help the sick people. Getting back into familiar habits made him feel more comfortable.

Tony nodded, understanding what he meant. They had been dealing with their own problems, and they hadn't quite have time to deal with someone else's. Climbing out, Tony sat on the bank and lay back, folding his arms behind his head. The ground was mossy, so there was no threat of getting coated in dirt again. He seemed unashamed of his nudity.

"Then we'll find someplace more.. Developed," he said, searching for a word that wasn't offensive. Not that Bruce would care.

"Yeah..." Shaking some of the water from his hair, he stepped out of the water and began to wring out his clothes. They were still soaked though, so he sat on the ground instead next to Tony, still unsure of what their next move was. "So, now that the public has seen the Other Guy, what do we do?" 

"Well," Tony began, rubbing his chin in thought, "we want to keep showing him to people. But, we should probably do it where people have at least heard of me- it would help. We also need to move on quickly after each place, otherwise Ross will catch us." He was enjoying the patch of sun that filtered down over him, and considered taking a little nap right there.

Bruce pursed his lips thoughtfully and nodded. It seemed like a good enough plan for him. They would just have to choose the places they stayed carefully, to keep Ross off their trail, and everything should be fine. They might even get to do some sight seeing, if they were lucky. He looked over at Tony, who was basking in the sun, and smiled at the idea. Yeah, traveling the world with Tony wouldn't be so bad. At least their little spat was over and done... He closed his eyes and laid back in the grass, enjoying just being able to relax and not have to worry about anything for a change, even if it was just for a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lover's spat! What's funny is that this isn't even close to the romance yet. Slow build people, slow build.
> 
> I'm sorry if my portrayals seem a bit OOC, but I'm going a lot more in depth with Tony's anxiety than the movie. It will get better. And as to where they'll be heading in the next chapter... think soccer.


	19. Coffee and Broadcasts

Bruce probably fell asleep a few moments after their conversation, and he woke up a few hours later, feeling more rested than he had in a while. They must have made a strange sight, two naked men sleeping side by side on the edge of the river. He sat up slowly, rubbing sleep from his eyes and flexing his arms before standing and walking over to his now dry clothes. He quickly dressed, and looked over to Tony, wondering vaguely if he was still asleep and not just relaxing in the grass. Tony appeared to be full and well passed out. One hand was draped carelessly over his stomach, the other behind his head, and one foot propped on the ground so that his knee was in the air. A dragonfly had perched there, seemingly oblivious to the man's gentle snoring. It became very obvious that Bruce was going to have to wake him, but he couldn't bring himself to disturb Tony just yet, what with all the sleepless nights lately and the fact that he looked so peaceful. Tony looked by no means old on any given day, but right now, he looked at least 10 years younger. Instead Bruce settled for skipping rocks, which didn't work so well what with the strong current, but he still tried nonetheless. It looked to be about five or six, judging by the sun's position, and Bruce figured that he would wake Tony in a couple of hours if he didn't rouse on his own. That way they could leave at sunset. It would be better to leave during the night anyway. So he killed some time by walking around the shore, but he didn't go far, remembering the incident yesterday. When it as time, Bruce went over to Tony and kicked him lightly with his bare foot. 

"Tony, rise and shine, come on, we gotta go." 

Tony snuffled and coughed, blinking sleepily up at Bruce. "Wha?" He managed, rubbing his eyes. The grass was so soft here on the bank, why couldn't he just stay here? Slowly he sat up, yawning and stretching. "Oh, I didn't realize I had slept so late. Sorry," he apologized, pulling on his pants and then his shirt. They were dry now, and he felt pretty good, hangover gone. "So, maybe the capital of Brazil? They'll speak Spanish there. And we can get something to eat," he said, heading towards his suit. 

"Sounds good to me," Bruce agreed. The mention of food made his stomach rumble, reminding him of how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten anything since the eggs and tea that morning.

Stepping into the suit, Tony checked everything before turning with a sigh. There was no better feeling than being in the suit; it felt as natural as a second skin. "Clench up there," he warned with a grin, sweeping the doctor off his feet. He tested his jets by flaring them once, then snapped his face plate down. "Hold on," he warned, and then they were flying.

It was getting easier to fly with Tony, but not by much. Bruce clung on to the suit and tried to pull in deep, even lung-fulls of air through the whipping wind hitting his face. This trip was a bit longer than the others, considering the sheer size of the country, and Bruce nearly wept when they finally landed. _Thank you!_ He practically moaned in his head. Shakily he climbed down from the warm metal suit, and looked at the city surrounding. 

"Sorry, I know you hate that," Tony said, popping up the mask so he could see. They were just outside it, but the place was definitely bustling with activity. And, to his relief, it looked pretty civilized. "Okay. Lets head into town and get food, then we can talk about our next move," he suggested, stepping out of the suit and giving Jarvis instructions on where to hide until they needed the suit. For now their little 'mission' required them to move incognito, and a flashy metal suit definitely wouldn't help them accomplish that goal.

Bruce nodded, and the two walked down the busy Brazilian streets, looking for some place to eat. It didn't take too long, and although they had to stop to buy Bruce a pair of shoes (much to the store owners insistence), they finally made it inside a small food establishment in a reasonable amount of time. Bruce ordered Moqueca de peixe, a sort of fish stew with coconut (he thought) and water, and he handed the grumpy looking man his menu. 

Tony didn't mind the wait, despite his hunger. He would never complain about something to do with their trip, because he'd promised Bruce he could handle it. He didn't want to be a burden. Scanning the menu, he managed to order some sort of burrito thing that might have been chicken -he had no freaking idea. But you know, food,- and leaned back contently in his chair. "At least we'll have an actual roof this time," he observed with a chuckle, swatting a bug away from his neck. They had agreed to stay in a slightly more luxurious locale this time, nothing fancy, but also not some tin shack. 

"Yeah," Bruce said with a smile, twiddling with his spoon against the table. Despite the hussle and bussle of the city around them, there weren't too many patrons in the little restaurant. A soccer game was playing on a small tv set, and there were a group of about four or so guys surrounding it, watching enthusiastically and shouting in Portuguese every so often. Other than that, the area seemed quiet. In a comfortable way, as opposed to a threatening way.

Tony's eyes flickered to the screen, his lips twitching. "You know, I've heard that soccer is such a popular sport around here that you can get a brawl started just by talking trash. I wonder if that's true.." He mused, getting a mischevious look on his face. 

Bruce raised a brow, his eyes shooting from Tony to the group of guys by the tv. "Tony, don't," he pleaded, his face serious. "I really don't want to have to try and keep my cool or stitch anyone up today. I finally got to relax a bit," he added. He knew that Tony would almost certainly do something stupid, but at least by warning him now, he would have an excuse to use a little extra force when pulling the thread through Tony's skin later. 

Tony shot him a grin and laid back in his seat once more. "Relax. I don't go picking fights. Usually," he reassured the man, waving a hand passively. Sure, when he got drunk he said things he regretted, but he wouldn't do something to jeopardize them right now. Unless he really really wanted to.

Bruce eyed Tony wearily, but decided that he was more or less telling the truth, so he went back to playing with his silverware. A few minutes later their food came, and he thanked the server only to get a glare in return. _What's his problem?_ He brushed it off, and began to eat his coconut fish, which wasn't nearly as bad as it sounded. He'd come to enjoy his meals enriched in spices anyway. Tony's didn't look nearly as pleasant though, and Bruce ate his food gratefully.

Tony tested his meal with a bite, chewing slowly as he looked down at it. "Interesting.. Flavor," he announced, wiping his mouth and coughing as he washed it down with a drink of water. Despite his dislike however, he continued eating. It was a bit of an acquired taste, but he was too hungry to care. Eventually he just stopped thinking about it. "Any idea why the waiter thinks you killed Santa Clause?" He asked conversationally. Their server did not like Bruce at all. 

"No idea," he replied mid-bite. He peered over at the server, who was leaning against a wall doodling in his notebook, probably bored over the slow traffic of the restaurant. "Never seen him before." He finished his food and water, not full, but content at least. He grimaced as Tony took another bite. Whatever he was eating did not look appealing in the least. 

Tony shrugged and worked on finishing his food without spitting it all back up. "Well, let's put a smile on his face, huh? His scowl is ugly," he replied, leaving thirty dollars as a tip. Well, he was converting the currency in his head anyway, so it was the U.S. amount $30. Most people would tip little for the rudeness, but Tony was too smug. "You ready?" 

A bit of trekking and a conversation with a local later brought them to a rather stately bungalow. Stately was a good word for the place- it was hardly a cheap apartment. As far as vacation residences went, the place was pretty high up on the list of nice places. Bruce was a bit surprised to see how classy the place was. Maybe the man had realized it was Tony he was talking to? He would've been happy with just about anything with a roof, but this place was really nice. 

Tony was frowning, thinking the same thing as Bruce. They didnt want to be recognized, and staying in an expensive place like this could get them found. He made up for it by renting the cheapest one of the bunch, and hey, at least they just looked normal tourists now. 

Bruce was happy that tony had decided to move them into a sort of "downgraded" place to stay, and it seemed much more comfortable than the first one. There were two bedrooms, two full baths, a kitchenette, a balcony, and a living area with a moderate sized flat screen, which was more than enough for him. "You think we could go shopping tomorrow? Maybe get me a few extra pairs of clothes, since I've only got the one?" He asked hopefully.

Tony was in the kitchen, hugging the coffeemaker to his chest. "Mhmm. I can get you that med kit too," he said distractedly, melodramatically stroking the top of the machine as he set it down. "Well, we've got all day.."

"Yeah, we have plenty of time to kill tomorrow," he agreed. It was almost midnight, so Bruce decided against any coffee. It wasn't really that late for him, but seeing as they weren't really working on any experiments or anything science related, he figured he should probably get on some sort of normal sleep schedule. "G'night, Tony," he called from down the hall, opening the door to one of the bedrooms. He threw off his shirt and kicked off his shoes, not bothering to straighten anything up, but instead getting comfortable in the full sized bed and falling asleep. 

"Night," Tony called, still fiddling with his precious coffeemaker. Once he had it set to brew come morning, he left it and began wandering around their place. He was a bit restless considering how well he had slept earlier, so he settled with doing the local crossword in Spanish. Something to keep his mind active, right? He got halfway through before he fell asleep on his bed, the pencil slipping from his hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bruce found himself curious as to what was happening back in New York. He'd refrained from watching any news reports at first, fearing what he would see of Ross, but now that they'd been away for a few weeks, he found himself wondering if everything was okay, how the others were taking it. They weren't exactly close, but they were still a misfit team, more or less. As they sat down the next morning to kill time with the news, he flipped around until he managed to find an American news cast with Spanish subtitles, and he leaned in closer to listen to what the perky host was saying. 

It was mostly routine, normal, news stuff at first. For the first 30 minutes in fact. Bruce was about to turn it off when they finally mentioned the Avengers. _"In other news, Manhattan residences are preparing for the worst, as sources say that General Thaddeus Ross and his Hulkbuster Unit are in a mad scramble to locate and lock away the Hulk, as well as his protege, our very own genius billionaire Tony Stark, better known as Iron Man, in hopes of preventing 'another of the Hulk's destructive rampages across New York'. General Ross's speeches and testimonies throughout not only just New York, but across the country as well, have created great controversy among the people. Some agree that the Hulk is a threat and should be locked away after the events in New York almost 8 months ago, while some make the Green Goliath out to be a hero, having helped the Avengers in stopping the alien invasion. Let's go live to Chris Daniels out in the streets."_

Tony hadn't been paying all that much attention, up until he heard his name. At that point he looked up from his tablet, brow furrowing. When he realized what was being said, Tony's jaw clenched and his fists tightened, his gaze locked on the screen. He was spectacularly pissed off now, enough so that he began typing rapidly on the device he was holding. He was working on hacking the broadcast, eye twitching in irritation. 

Bruce's throat felt thick, and his coffee's bitter aftertaste became all the more present on his tongue. He peered over at Tony, who was tinkering away at some sort of device. He could easily see the anger present in Tony's eyes, and had to look back at the screen to suppress a shiver. Chris was interviewing random people in Central Park, asking them where they stood on the issue. The answers were mixed, some on Ross' side, some on theirs, and some just plain confused as to what the Newscaster was talking about.

Suddenly, the picture began to distort, wavy lines covering the screen. Someone was talking about a technical difficulty, and then the entire screen turned green. [b]Hulk Rules![/b] appeared on the screen in darker green with a small peace sign next to it, the sound of the reporters gone. It stayed like that for a minute before Tony continued tinkering. The message got smaller and moved to the bottom of the screen as clips from security cameras, phones and news cameras appeared from the battle of New York. In each of them, there was always some glimpse of the Hulk, whether it was a blur of green, or a clear shot of him smashing aliens around.

Bruce stared wide-eyed at the screen. _How had Tony even gotten that footage, and how did he have it with him now?_ He wondered. He watched as the Hulk tore apart New York, smashing Chitauri foot soldiers. He even saw a clip from an office building or the Other Guy running through room and flinging himself onto one of the Leviathan to stop it from colliding with the building. He was a little impressed and mesmerized at how controlled the Other Guy seemed, of how he truly did save people. The entire clipshow reminded him of his nightmares from when they were in Costa Rica, of the blurred images from inside the Other Guy's mind during the battle. Bruce blinked a few times, and turned back to Tony.

Tony looked smug, too preoccupied to notice that he was being watched. The video clip finally dissolved into white, and he quickly began typing. As he did so, words began forming on the screen. It was a wonder he didn't make a spelling error. _Tony Stark would greatly appreciate if the local newscasters could keep their noses out of business they have no real grasp of. In addition, the Hulk is a hero and everyone owes their life to him on some level. Thank you for your consideration. ~Tony Stark, Genius Billionaire Playboy Philanthropist._

_Tony observed his handiwork for a few moments, then turned to see that he had an audience. "They were irritating me," he explained with a shrug. Was there really any need for a better explanation? He set his device down, allowing the network to have their channel back._

_"Figured," Bruce replied simply, having guessed as much._

Clapping his hands together once, Tony stood. "So, ready to go shopping?" He asked, quick to change the subject. Anyone speculating over his friends was enough to piss him off, though he didn't want to talk about it right now. Avoiding problems was his specialty, after all. 

"Sure," Bruce said with a nod, standing from his spot on the couch. They soon left for town, and managed to find a store suited somewhat to Bruce's taste. He picked out four shirts, and even more pairs of pants, along with some sweats to sleep in while they were staying in Brasilia. They picked up some food after they finished clothes shopping, and even took in some of the sights. Now all that was left was finding a spot for the Other Guy's appearance, but Bruce figured he should let Tony take the lead, and he would just make the final decision. 

Tony didn't do much during the trip, though he withdrew some more money from hidden accounts. He generally used these while on vacation because they couldn't be traced. Tony made sure to buy that medical supply kit though, presenting it to Bruce with a slight smile. "Lets find that spot, yeah?" 

Unsurprisingly, there weren't many unpopulated areas in Brazil. The open spaces were generally occupied by the populace, and anywhere else was too far from civilization to do them much good. There was a soccer (football, to these people anyway) field in a park in the middle of the city that caught their attention. It seemed the only viable option, and there were no games going on for the foreseeable future. "Tomorrow, then? This place is perfect," Tony suggested, glancing at Bruce. There were people all over the park, but no one would be on the field, which gave them plenty of open space for a Hulk-out. 

Unlike the previous times they had discussed their stunts, Bruce agreed right away with a nod. It was getting easier to accept the transformations, to trust in Tony's ability to contain and guide Hulk. He was confident that nothing would happen while the engineer was watching, and despite himself, he found that he was even becoming a little less wary of the Hulk. This time would be no different than the others- he was certain. He had to be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love feedback! Please let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!


	20. Public Exposure

"It'll be okay Bruce. I promise," Tony said as they made their way towards the destination they had picked the night prior. It was still early, so the usual hustle and bustle hadn't reached the streets yet. He led his companion through a maze of streets and alleys until he found a secluded spot in the park, concealed by the many trees growing there. Bruce had seemed less nervous this time, but Tony still took it upon himself to reassure the scientist. "It's go time. I won't be stupid again," he promised with a slight grin. 

Bruce nodded and took off his shirt and shoes (there was no use in ruining them). The apprehension he always felt with changing was still there, but it was diminishing each time he changed. Soon he wouldn't mind changing at all, and he wasn't sure what to think about that. Tony was supportive no matter what, which really helped, but he still needed to spend some time thinking about things. Centering himself, he searched around in the depths of his mind for the all too familiar presence. When he found it, he shifted it forward and made the change almost effortlessly this time. It really was getting easier- another fact he was struggling with. But at the moment, he didn't have to think about anything.

Hulk didn't even seem all that surprised or dazed like usual. The change was voluntary on both sides, so he didn't have to struggle for power. He turned and crouched down to Tony's level, a determined grin on his face. "See people again?" he growled questioningly, noticing Tony outside his armor.

Tony nodded, giving him a small wave and a smile. "Yup. And later we can go smash- sound good?" Tony asked, hands on his hips. "Remember, gentle and no smashing around civilians. These people will be scared at first, but not once they get to know you," he assured him. The suit was on standby- he'd been charging it- in case the Brazilians didn't recognize either of them. They must have see the news last night though, right? These people had televisions down here, and he was pretty sure there was a Stark Industries building in the heart of the city. They would recognize him, right? If not, they were in for a bumpy ride.

The Hulk grunted in agreement, remembering the events from last time. He was especially excited about the smashing later. He followed Tony to the soccer field the two scientists had found earlier, and wondered what he was supposed to do now. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It went as well as they had anticipated. There had been panic and fear initially, mixed with curiosity of course, as people flocked to see the big green man in the soccer field. Luckily for them, people had indeed recognized the infamous Tony Stark, even Hulk, so the fear had quickly been replaced with amazement. They did some tricks, talked to the people (well, Tony talked, Hulk just roared enthusiastically) before departing, their message clearly sent. More and more people seemed to be accepting Hulk's presence, which was definitely a good sign for their campaign. When they started showing themselves in America- well, Tony could only assume it would be easier.

As he'd promised, Tony took the green giant out for smashing afterwards, about the equivalent of awarding a child with a trip to the ice cream parlor. Hulk loved it, if the amount of destruction was anything to go by. That and his laughter- Tony hadn't known Hulk was capable of laughing so much. Who could hate him? It was dark out when the Green Goliath finally decided to stop, having seemingly run out of fumes for the day. It was hard to maintain your energy when you derived your strength from anger, and you were filled with joy instead. He breathed heavily, settling down on the ground. He took inventory of his smashing, everything completely demolished within a 3 miles radius, himself sitting at its epicenter. "Hulk see Tony soon?" he puffed, resting an arm on his bent knee. 

"Sure will big guy. You did good, see you soon," Tony assured him, giving a small pat on the leg. They had torn up a lot, but luckily this system of exposing Hulk and then letting him smash seemed to be working.

The Big Guy shifted back to his usual place in the back of Bruce's mind, and the hulking green form shrunk down to its usual size. An exhausted Bruce Banner swayed, but managed to catch himself, as he had luckily been sitting upright when he'd changed. He lifted his heavy lids, seeing Tony out of the cracks, along with the utter destruction around them. A pang of nervousness washed through him, but the smile on Tony's face told him that it was for nothing, and that everything had been fine. With this reassurance, he let his eyes slide closed and fell unconscious into Tony's arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bruce was greeted by searing pain when he finally woke up, much later than usual. He groaned as he sat up, and he winced at the action stung his aching throat. Why was his throat so sore? He grabbed the water from the bedside table and drank greedily, hoping it would soothe the ache. Every muscle burned and cramped, and he grit his teeth as he tried to climb out of bed, pants hanging loosely from his hips. _Had Tony remembered his clothes from yesterday?_ he wondered. He leaned heavily against the wall and tried to remember what had happened, but was welcomed with a blank wall, so he shrugged it off. He could always ask Tony later. 

Tony was walking by (okay, he was keeping an eye on Bruce so what?) when he noticed Bruce was up, and back tracked, holding out a pair of sweats. "Hey, take it easy. You're probably pretty sore," he warned, keeping his eyes on the scientist's face in case his pants came down. He wasn't embarrassed or anything, but the doctor might be. "Everything went well."

Bruce smiled through the pain, sighing shakily, his hand still supporting him against the wall. "Yeah, you could say that," he said, the words layered in sarcasm. He looked up at Tony and gratefully took the pair of pants, slipping them on as the other man averted his gaze -which he appreciated. Just the slight movement sent a fresh wave of soreness through his limbs, and he sat back on the bed with a huff. "It feels like I fell out of orbit or something! What the Hell did you two _do_ yesterday?" He huffed. 

Tony chuckled slightly, an embarrassed look coming to his face. Yeah, he hadn't really taken into account how sore Bruce would be.. "Well, the visit went well. I let him smash after that, and he sort of went nuts. He wouldn't stop laughing either, which was kinda funny. That's probably why your voice is weird though," he replied.

Bruce shot Tony a quizzical look, only now noticing the change in his voice. _Well that's just great,_ he thought, rubbing his neck absently. "So you got the press you needed, then?" he croaked. 

"The press that we needed, yes. A lot more people recognized us this time. The Hulk seems to understand better each day that people won't hurt him," Tony explained, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. "Want something to eat?" He had to be hungry- gamma irradiated cells and all.

Bruce nodded vigorously, the hollow ache in his stomach sticking out over the other aches and pains of his body. "I could probably eat a whole cow right about now," he joked tiredly. 

Tony gave him a grin that may or may not indicate that one day Bruce will wake up with a cow in his room, then nodded and ducked out to go get the tired doctor something to eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sooo sorry for the long wait and the shortness of this chapter. I promise things are going to start picking up soon, my life is just chaotic right now. I promise the next chapter won't be pure filler, and it'll definitely be longer. Thanks to everyone who is sticking with this story! As a little treat, here's a sneak peek of what is to come:
> 
> Bruce had been in the bathroom when it happened. He should've seen it, considering how out of place it was, but he didn't. He was brushing his teeth for the night after they returned to their temporary home, and he was still a bit bummed over what had happened with the kangaroo. Before he knew what happened, a bright orange snake had its fangs bared, and with a flash had them embedded into Bruce's skin.
> 
> I bet you can guess where they're going next!


	21. Out in the Outback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone still reading this for your patience! This chapter is longer than usual because you guys deserve it. I'm out of school now, so updates SHOULD**** be more frequent. Enjoy!

At first there was a tiny bump, but the small disturbance wasn't strong enough to disrupt his slumber. The next bump, however, jostled him enough so that his head smacked against the window with enough force to rouse the sleeping billionaire. He jolted upright and away from the airplane window, blinking sleepily until his gaze managed to focus on the curly-haired scientist across from him.

"What?" He mumbled, as though a question had been asked. 

Bruce glanced over at Tony, taking his attention away from his stargazing. They had chosen to fly at night, just as a precautionary measure. They wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible. "Uh, I didn't say anything," he answered softly. After a moment of silence, he walked over to sit in the chair beside Tony, since he was awake now, wincing slightly as he lowered himself into his seat. He was still sore from Hulk's appearance the night before, and moving around after sitting still for at least two hours was fairly painful. Tony noticed this and gave him a sympathetic look, having come more fully awake.

"We might have some painkillers in the back. Do you want me to go ask?" He offered, but the scientist shook his head. It wasn't worth the trouble, and besides, medicine rarely worked on him. That was why when he would get hit with a tranquilizer, it was usually strong enough to kill a bear and knock out an elephant. And that was never fun to wake up from. At the moment however, he just felt sore and restless. Maybe it was being on a plane, he wasn't sure, but it felt like the Other Guy was pacing in the back of his mind, effectively causing a tingling sensation. Bruce knew he didn't have any special sixth sense, but he couldn't figure out why he felt so tense. Subconsciously he had started to wring his hands in his lap, and Tony was starting to take notice.

"Bruce..?" He asked slowly, confused. He looked like he was freaking out. "Everything okay big guy?" There was nothing he could find wrong with their situation, and yet Bruce's expression gave him a strange feeling. It felt ominous, and yet looking around them and outside, there was nothing visibly amiss. 

Bruce ran a hand through his hair, a nervous smile on his face, one of the ones that didn't look quite right. "I honestly have no idea..." he breathed, that same, not-quite-right smile still present. And he really didn't. From a logical view point, everything was fine. Yet...something was bothering him, and he couldn't figure out what it was. Nothing especially triggering had happened, so why did it feel like his chest was bunching up, constricting his breathing? His eyes flickered from the top of the plane's interior, to Tony, and out the window, gaze unable to stay in one place. 

Tony studied him for a moment before standing slowly. "Do you want me to see if there's any anxiety medicine up front or something?" It was making him nervous to see Bruce so worked up, because the guy usually kept himself calm. Of course, he hid his growing apprehension, because it would a) scare Bruce and b) one does not simply display their emotions at random. Not that Bruce hadn't seen him at his highs and lows, but still, it was a matter of principle and years of mastery. 

Bruce looked up at Tony nervously, his leg bouncing by his side. "Uh, no, I think I can handle it," he replied, when in fact he wasn't sure if he could. He only knew that the only medication that could work on an anxiety attack short term -which he didn't even really know if he was having- would be a mild sedative, and the thought of sleeping repulsed him. Bruce took in a deep breath, trying to calm the Other Guy's rumbling in his mind and to try and loosen the constricting feeling weighing down on his chest. He could tell despite the facade that he was making Tony nervous, and he attempted a reassuring smile more for Tony's sake than his own. 

Tony looked unconvinced, though he sat back down anyway. "Hope I don't develop an accent while we're here. Then I'll have to beat the women off with a stick," he joked, trying to lighten the mood. He wished he knew what was making the man so anxious.

Bruce attempted a small chuckle that felt wrong even in his own ears. His mind raced as he tried to work through the reason for his panic. He had difficulty coming up with anything at all, but after thinking about it, he figured it was probably a combination of exhaustion, restlessness, releasing the Other Guy so much more often than he had before, constantly feeling repressed inside his own mind, and just everything in general. It was like his mind and his body were separate, the latter working against him and trying to make him unstable. And flying had sort of added the final little nudge, just caused all of his small worries and anxieties to burst and flood inside him. It wasn't Tony's fault in the least; he still wasn't quite sure for the reason why he was so flustered. He hated not being in control, which is sort of ironic, considering. He crossed his arms, as if to try and hold himself together. 

Tony began to tap his foot idly- it didn't make any noise or move very far, just a subtle movement to reveal that he was uncomfortable. Not afraid, no. The trust he had in both the Hulk and Bruce prevented him from being afraid. He was worried of course, both for the doctor's well being, and the fact that Hulk wouldn't do well in such an enclosed space. He had a feeling they might get an unexpected swim if he broke free- well, from this height, Hulk would swim. Tony would be dead before he hit the water. He wished they would land already.

Bruce realized something a midst his anxiety fueled haze that had seemed to form around him over the past few minutes. He realized that he and Tony were in pretty much opposite situations, playing the opposite rolls that they had played last time. He himself was having a panic attack (or something close to it) and Tony was attempting to comfort him. It brought a somewhat hysterical sounding chuckle to his lips. He realized how alike they truly were. "I never knew how alike we were, Tony," he mused to himself, his eyes now locked on the blurred scene outside rather than the billionaire sitting beside him. "Did I ever tell you about my father?" he asked suddenly. He knew that this was an incredibly triggering and touchy subject for him, but right now he wasn't thinking all that rationally, and he felt he needed to get some of this off his chest. Maybe it would help, maybe not.

Tony jolted slightly in surprise at the laugh, turning his head to look at Bruce. Yeah, they were alike, he supposed. But- his father? Tony's father had neglected him, and cruel at times, so Bruce's couldn't be far off in the way of behavior if he was bringing the man up. "No, you haven't," he replied in a 'go on' sort of manner.

"Well, as you can imagine, he wasn't the best father. In fact, he was a shitty one. I remember, one Christmas, when I was about four I woke up early and snuck down to the Christmas tree. I found and opened one of his presents to me, which was an erector set. I managed to put the thing together into a very intricate structure in little time. Brian came down and smashed the structure, screaming at me that I was a freak and that someone my age should not be able to do that." He took a shuddering breath, a pained smile on his face. "He thought I was a monster, a freak, even before I was born! The guy turned out to be a paranoid schizophrenic, and a drinker, and he loved to knock me and mom around after coming home from the bar after work," he stated bitterly, smile gone. His eyes glazed over as he thought about his mother, and he let the silence hang in the air for a moment. 

Tony opened his mouth and closed it, stunned. There were so many things wrong with that story, he couldn't even get words out. Automatically an intense hate for the man that was Bruce's father burned in his gut, along with a small realization. Bruce probably would've killed to have Howard as a father growing up. Sure he drank, but he didn't beat Tony. He had it much better than the scientist, apparently. "That's horrible. I'm sorry, Bruce," he said gently. He had a bad feeling that the story wasn't over.

"Yeah, thanks," he breathed, his voice hitching slightly with the tears that he fought to hold back. He could remember a time in college, where he had been able to turn off his emotions, to just not feel any of this, and sometimes he wished desperately that he could go back to the way things were. But he couldn't, and another part of him said that this was for the best: that his compassion is what helps him through his mess of a life. He took a deep breath, looking at Tony with emotion shining in his eyes. "S'not even the worst part. He killed her. Mother tried to leave him, take me with her. And the bastard killed her in front of me. Told me that if I ever said anything, he'd kill me for the monster I was. So I lied. Told everyone in court that he didn't do it... What really gets me, is that he ended up in a cell anyway. Bragged about it to everyone in the bar that his kid was a monster and that he bashed his wife's skull in, and he got himself locked in a mental hospital," he finished, hot tears stinging his eyes. He never let himself get emotional like this. It was not only dangerous, but it just wasn't something he did. He couldn't allow himself to be vulnerable. But things were different with Tony. Tony could understand, and not fear what would happen. So just this once, he let himself feel the pain and anguish coursing through him. More importantly, he let himself let it go. 

Tony paused for a moment, then moved over to sit in the seat directly next to Bruce. He put an arm around him, unafraid of the emotion that could cause a change. He wasn't worried about what could happen, he was sad for Bruce. Maybe no one else would ever get that, but Tony had his own demons on the inside- and he knew better than most what it was like to live with that kind of beast. Bruce deserved to be comforted too, and by god the engineer would do it or die trying. "It's okay," he shushed softly, surprisingly compassionate. His father had inadvertently killed his mother as well, though he didn't say that. It wouldn't make things better. "It's okay, Bruce. He isn't here now. It's just me, and I know my opinion doesn't mean much, but I don't think you're a monster. You've been living with this for too long, and its good you got it out. That man deserves to go to hell or worse for what he's done for you. Just remember that he can never lay another finger on you again." It felt odd to be sentimental, but whatever, this was Bruce. He could be surprisingly open with Bruce.

Bruce looked up in a vain attempt to stop the flow of tears and pressed his lips together in a hard line to lessen their trembling. He leaned into Tony, unaccustomed to the support and compassionate understanding that the man provided him, gratefulness for this support pouring out of the doctor in waves. Light sobs began to wrack his frame, and he didn't try and hold them back once they started. He clung to Tony, unembarrassed by the intimacy between them, and he continued to nod his head slowly in agreement with Tony's words.  
Brian Banner was dead, he knew that for a fact. He didn't tell Tony this; it was too much all at once. Maybe another time, when he was less emotional, he would tell him about the night in the graveyard, when Brian was released. But not today.  
The Other Guy had begun to restlessly beat the insides of his skull, desperate to escape, but began to calm at Tony's touch. Almost like he was an upset child being soothed by a parent, and a few moments with Tony had lulled the Other Guy back into his slumber, much to Bruce's relief. 

Gently Tony rubbed his back as he sobbed, nonplussed by the fact that it could be dangerous. As for the closeness, well, Bruce was his best friend. He had done this for the engineer before- now Tony was returning the favor, and didn't mind. He continued to make little shushing noises, keeping up a mantra of soothing nonsense that hopefully would relax him. He had never been particularly great at comforting before, but apparently he wasn't half bad. 

They didn't stay that way for much longer, Tony cradling Bruce in his arms, simply because Bruce's sobs had finally ceased, and he finally felt that calm he so often craved for, not just for his own sake, but for Tony's as well. But not this time. The Other Guy had been quiet for some time, and Bruce in turn hadn't felt an urgency to keep his emotions in check, so he had let them ebb away on their own, and it seemed like that made all the difference. A weight was lifted from his chest that he hadn't truly realized was there, presumably having been placed there by Brian Banner all those years ago.  
He loosened himself from Tony's grasp, wiping away the last of the wetness from his cheeks, feeling his stubble through his shirt sleeve. He looked at Tony, thankfulness shining in his eyes. He didn't have to say the words aloud, because he felt that Tony knew how much he'd helped him, and how much gratitude Bruce felt for the gesture. 

As soon as Bruce shifted away, Tony let go. He was okay now, or better at least, and he of all people could relate to bottling up emotions. It didn't help at all, but he did it anyway. When Bruce looked at him he offered a gentle smile, staying in the seat beside him though no longer in his personal space. He felt glad that he could relieve the man of his sorrows; he already owed him so much more than that. It was a start, though. "I don't know about you, but I am so ready to get off this plane," he quipped, grunting as he stretched his limbs. "It would be my luck that I step foot onto solid ground and something bites me. I hear this place is teeming with deadly creatures."

Bruce rolled his eyes at Tony's attempt to lighten the mood, which arguably did work, since it brought a smile to his face. "Australia isn't just full of dangerous animals you know. There are wombats, for instance," he replied, noting that a gleam had come to Tony's eye. 

"And kangaroos."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Tony, you're going to get kicked in the face."

"No I'm not." 

"I am so not driving you to a hospital if your teeth get knocked out."

"Shhh Bruce."

And so it came to be that the pair of science aficionados stood in the back yard of a man in his early fifties, who was currently counting dollar bills as Tony approached one of his kangaroos. Bruce had been fairly surprised to hear that there were such things as kangaroo ranches, but here they were. It looked like the setup to a comedic scene in a movie, what with Tony inching towards the animal, whose eyes were locked with his. He was fairly certain that one sudden move on his friend's part would have a kangaroo stomping his face in, but so far nothing had gone wrong. As usual, his billionaire friend was throwing caution to the wind. Bruce caught himself holding his breath as Tony extended a hand slowly, only to let it out in a relieved sigh as the man successfully touched its chest without being attacked. 

"I guess you have a way with animals," Bruce teased, the Other Guy coming to mind. He folded his arms around himself, and he watched as Tony pet the animal, smiling as it smelled Tony's arc reactor curiously. It was probably able to hear the vibrations and buzzing that the machine produced. 

Tony's grin got bigger if possible when the animal didn't judo-kick him in the gut. "I've never wanted to have a pet before, but.." He trailed off, rubbing between the kangaroo's ears and chuckling softly when it arched into his touch. He was suddenly finding that he loved animals. "You have to come try this Bruce!"

Bruce smiled, deciding to humor him. "Okay, but I'm not going to be the one to tell Pepper when she finds out you want pets," he warned. The kangaroo turned to him as he spoke, sniffing at him cautiously before his brown eyes widened in alarm, and it hopped away to the back of the fence. The ranch owner followed after him to try and calm him down. Bruce gave it a bemused look, before he realized what happened, and his lips pressed together in a hard line. "I guess he could smell the radiation on me," he guessed, muttering to Tony so that the other man wouldn't hear. "Either that or the predator pheromones I give off because of the Other Guy..." 

Tony stood and walked over to Bruce, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I wasn't really going to get a kangaroo anyway. I'd rather not have Pepper kill me with her deadly look," he joked, trying to lift his spirits.

Bruce smiled weakly, placing his hands in his pockets. "You could still get one, if you wanted. I don't want to ruin it for you or anything," he assured. The owner came back just then, apologizing for the strange behavior of the animal. "It's fine, thank you for your time," Bruce insisted with a smile, shaking his hand. 

Tony just shook his head and gave Bruce's shoulder a squeeze before returning his gaze to the man. "Don't worry about it. Thanks so much for this- here, for your trouble," he said, insisting the man take another fifty dollars. An idea was rapidly forming in his mind, and he was going to put it into action as soon as possible. They thanked the gentleman once more before leaving, driving back in the small car they'd rented to the bland, clay bungalow they had also rented. Bruce still seemed a little put out, but Tony was determined to cheer him up, and so he dropped him off before driving away, only telling his companion that he was off to run an errand and would return shortly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bruce had been in the bathroom when it happened. He should've seen it, considering how out of place it was, but he didn't. He was brushing his teeth for the night after they returned to their temporary home, and he was still a bit bummed over what had happened with the kangaroo. It wasn't a big deal, that the animal had panicked, but every animal seemed to react in kind to him. It always made him feel low. Amidst his thoughts, before he knew what was happening, a bright orange snake had its fangs bared, and with a flash had them embedded into Bruce's skin. He gasped in surprise, clutching at his leg as pain flared in the limb. His eyes wide with surprise, he fell, causing a few bottles to come down with him. He must've stepped on it or something, he thought as all lucid thoughts flew from his mind.

Tony was humming softly as he came inside, making sure to wipe his shoes off on the mat before taking his surprise for Bruce to his own room. On his way back out, he heard a grunt of pain, prompting him to come to the bathroom. "Bruce? Is everything-holy shit that's a big snake! Are you okay?" He exclaimed in alarm.

Bruce had already begun to shake, a sheen of sweat forming on his face. He clutched at his leg as it began to swell and redden. He squeezed his eyes shut as the pain flared through all of his limbs, which had taken on a greenish hue. "T-tony...get out of here."


	22. There's a Snake in my... Bathroom?

For a moment Tony was frozen in shock, staring down at his friend as he bucked in agonizing pain. The real threat was not Bruce dying, but rather Hulk making an appearance and utterly destroying everything. The last time Hulk got out because Bruce had been hurt, he had leveled several floors of the Hellicarrier. There was also no telling what he would do to a certain genius billionaire, who might even appear as a threat to him while he was consumed with rage. 

"Fuck!" Tony swore as he darted from the bathroom, trying to ignore the pained moans coming from behind him. He had to keep the Hulk here- they weren't in town, but they were close enough that if the big guy ran in the wrong direction, he would end up there. The suit shuttered over him as he stepped into the back of it and then whirled around, just waiting for the inevitable. The house didn't matter. The innocent civilians less than five miles away did.

Heat seared across Bruce's skin, like his body was trying to burn the venom from his blood. He moaned, leaning heavily against the counter as another wave of fire and pain washed over him. Control was rapidly slipping through his fingers, as was consciousness, and he could do nothing but lay there as the gamma radiation took over. His body gave one final shudder before the Other Guy came to life, this time neither of them triggering the change. It took a bit longer than usual, his body not functioning properly with the poison flowing through his veins, but he changed nonetheless, and the Hulk gave a roar of pain when the change finally stopped, shattering the glass mirror into hundreds of tiny pieces as the rest of the venom was finally burned out of his system. 

Tony hurried in when he heard the roar, his face mask down just in case his green friend was volatile. "Hey buddy, easy. Its okay big guy," he tried in an attempt to calm him down, standing in the doorway and not coming closer just in case he got violent. "Stop moving and it will stop hurting, I promise. Just hold still."

He was disoriented, to say the least. Banner hadn't been the one to provoke this, and he hadn't busted himself out, yet here he was, his body burning in pain, pain which he wasn't used to experiencing. Hulk almost never felt pain, unless he was in the middle of a fight, and even then, it was minimal. Wild eyes searched the room, finally settling on the red and gold of Tony's suit. He gave a pained growl, fidgeting and moving his body in confusion and pain, Tony's words falling on deaf ears. His arm collided with the toilet, causing the porcelain to break and water to spurt everywhere. He covered his face from the spray, and the snake, even more angry and confused now, lashed out and sank its teeth into his green skin. It died almost instantly, its fangs still embedded in his arm. 

Tony quickly pulled the snake off, tossing it out and into the hallway. It was dead anyway. "Hulk, buddy, you have to hold still," he implored, kneeling and holding his hands at chest height with his palms facing up. "I won't hurt you. I'm trying to make it better!"

Hulk breathed deeply, watching Tony intently with wide, frightened eyes. He stopped his thrashing for a moment, and he gave Tony a confused look, as if asking why he was here. The pain had finally ebbed away, his leg and arm returning to their "normal" green color as opposed to their earlier sickly pale green.

"The snake bit Bruce, and snakes are poison. Poison kills, so his body forced you out to make sure he didn't die," Tony explained slowly, making sure they were at eye level so they were on the same page, and so he was less freaked out. His face plate came up so Hulk could see him and hopefully calm down. "It should stop hurting now," he said, moving back so the Hulk could stand. "We should get you outside where there's more room. Unfortunately you'll have to break down a wall to do that." Well, unfortunately for him. Hulk would probably enjoy it.

After a moment, Hulk nodded in understanding. He gave his leg a glance, and upon seeing it looked okay, he began to move his way out of the room, his massive body hitting just about everything it could manage to despite his carefulness. He was just too big for the room itself. He let out a frustrated grunt, looking at Tony as if to ask for help. 

Tony just shrugged. "You're not gonna get out of there without breaking stuff. Here, follow me. The patio doors are big enough for you," he said, walking out of the room. He made his way over and slid the glass doors apart, waving for the Hulk to continue. Their contractor would have a field day..

Hulk was a bit surprised, but he followed Tony to the back, practically demolishing all the walls from leading from the bathroom to the patio, including Bruce's room. He even managed to make a Hulk-shaped hole in one of them, to his amusement. When he finally made his way outside, he stood at full height as if to stretch out before hunching over in his usual posture. 

Tony winced- oh god, they were making a mess. He wondered idly if writing a blank check and leaving it would keep the owner of the rental place quiet. "So.. Big guy," he began, feeling mildly awkward and put upon to start a conversation. "Are you feeling alright?" He watched the green goliath shift from one foot to the other, scratching at his head as he took stock of his body. The pain had stopped, so he guessed he felt okay. "Hulk not hurt anymore," he stated, hoping this was the answer Tony wanted. They sat in silence for a moment, both of them fidgeting, until a thought struck Tony and he grinned. 

"Oh Hulk, I got you something. Want me to go get it?" Hulk gave an approving grunt, eager to see what it was that Tony was talking about. He'd never gotten a present before.

Tony stepped backwards out of the suit, adjusting his hair vainly as he did so. "I'll be right back," he said, then jogged into the house to retrieve his surprise. It was a gamble, but he had faith in the Hulk. He then returned outside and approached the Hulk slowly, holding out a black bundle of fluff that would definitely win the award for 'World's Fluffiest Kitten'. "Gentle," he reminded as he stopped by Hulk, showing the green man how he gently stroked the kitten's back. Bruce would kill him for this, but if the Hulk had a little animal around to keep him calm, he was less likely to take his rage out on the area surrounding. Besides, Bruce needed a little animal friend too. After what had happened with the kangaroo, it seemed like having an animal around would raise Bruce's spirits.

Hulk was confused at first at what the ball of fluff was at first, and he eased toward it cautiously, watching Tony stroke it gently. As he got closer, the ball began to move, and it opened to reveal large, bright blue eyes. The Hulk's own green ones grew wide and he placed a hesitant hand on the bundle of fur, which made it hiss softly out of instinct, smelling the radiation and the acrid smell of chemicals that he emitted. The Hulk drew back at the noise, worried that he had done something wrong, worried that he might've hurt it. 

"No, no," Tony told the kitten, holding it up so the little bundle could see the green man better. "Hulk is good," he told the little cat, putting a hand on the Hulk's big one and patting it. "Hey big guy, let him sniff you. Hold out your hand and be very still," he instructed, showing him by holding is own hand out to the little kitten before moving so he could try.

Hulk moved his hand out again, gingerly, as the black kitten began to sniff him. He gave a little sneeze at the smell, but at Tony's prodding he tried again. Once he realized that the green beast in front of him wasn't doing anything threatening, he jumped on his hand, its tiny, thin claws finding purchase on his rough skin easily. The Hulk couldn't even feel it. The cat felt the heat that he gave off, and it forgot all its misconceptions of the big guy from a moment ago, curling up into a little ball in his palm, much like cats do on warm laptop keyboards.  
Hulk watched it sleep, mesmerized by the puny thing. The cat was barely the length of his middle finger. He made no move to try and stroke it like Tony had, but let it lay there in his hand while he watched. It was incredible to him that such a small thing existed, and it was so vulnerable too. 

Tony grinned at his successful mission. The cat had taken a liking to the Hulk thank goodness, and he was being very careful about it. "Good job. He likes you," he praised, watching the kitten sleep in his hand. "Want to name him?" 

Hulk gave Tony a blank stare, as nothing came to mind what he should call him. He wasn't exactly the best at naming things. The Hulk stared down at the ball of fur, able to feel the gentle vibrations as he slept. "Uh..." he spoke, trying to think of something, maybe ask Banner for advice. But Banner wasn't stirring, and he doubted he would even be able to change back for a while, since he was so silent. 

Well. At least Hulk didn't name it Smash. "That's okay, you don't have to now," he assured him, patting the green man's hand gently. "He's a friend too." He seemed mesmerized by the cat, and though they now had to keep track of him, it was a positive influence on the Hulk. That was worth all the trouble the little kitten could cause them later.

Hulk grinned, a feeling of calm spreading over him as he began to play with the furball. He woke it from its sleep and moved his hands so as to allow the kitten to jump across his fingers, pawing at them playfully. He knew it was only a matter of time before he was able to change back, and he wasn't feeling any of his usual urges to smash, so he continued to play. He never made a move to stroke or pet the feline though, knowing that he would end up hurting his new friend (which brought the grand total to two living beings that liked him), so he let him scamper across his skin without protest. 

Tony sat back, chuckling as the kitten ran across his hands. It could keep both Banner and the Hulk calm, so it looked as though it was a job well done. "He really likes you," he said absently, and no he was not jealous thank you very much. This was cute. He snapped out his phone to get a picture.

Hulk continued to play with the kitten for about an hour, surprisingly patient and gentle, especially considering how he had gotten there. But finally he could feel Banner begin to stir in the recesses of his mind, and he encouraged him to come forward. He began to transform, his massive form shrinking back to its normal size.

Bruce's eyes drooped, and he nearly dropped the cat from his hands, not really knowing it was there until he felt its claws dig into his palm in an attempt to stop it from falling from Bruce's grip. He looked around, confused, and his free hand instinctively shot toward his leg, only to find that it was fine. "Wha-...?" he asked, dazed, staring unfocused at the terrified animal in his hand. 

Tony quickly came forward and scooped the cat up, waiting for Bruce to get his bearings. "Easy there tiger," he chuckled, kneeling and trying to stroke the cat back into calmness. He rubbed at the base of its ears, glancing up at Bruce. "No major damage. Well, the house could use some repairs, but no rampage," he informed him, sitting on his heels. "I got you a present," he announced, lifting the cat slightly. "Hulk really likes him. After an initial freak out the kitten seemed to like him too. They played for hours. I figured both of you could use it- he remains nameless at the moment." He offered the kitten to Bruce after finishing his usual lengthy explanation. 

Bruce blinked rapidly, his brows stitched together. He took the kitten from Tony's hands, examining the animal. The kitten seemed to realize he was safe, and had relaxed again. "How exactly did we transition from me being bitten by a venomous animal and possibly dying before the Other Guy was able to save me, to you getting me and the Other Guy a kitten?" he asked slowly, obvious fatigue layering his voice. "Where did you even find him?" His eyes peered past Tony into the house, at the massive holes in the walls and the rubble scattered around on the patio. His heart sank.

"I went down to a shelter earlier, before you got bit. You seemed depressed, and I thought y'know, maybe an animal would cheer you and the Other Guy up. Then I walked in and you were on the floor, and.. well. He didn't get angry, he seemed more confused. Maybe even scared. He really wasn't trying to destroy the house, so that's not his fault. I managed to calm him down and then got him outside, then introduced him to fluff ball here. They get along really well," Tony explained, sighing as he finished. He hated that Bruce seemed upset, but surely the kitten could cheer him up?

Bruce nodded slowly as Tony spoke, understanding on his face. He looked down at the animal in his hands then back to Tony. "Thanks," he muttered, a smile tugging at a corner of his lips. He gave the kitten a scratch behind the ears, and he began to purr softly. The soothing sound reminded him of how exhausted he felt, his body running off fumes after having to fight off the snake's venom. He stood shakily, placing the cat on the ground carefully as he attempted to balance himself upright, his head swimming. He needed to lay down before his body made him lay down.

Tony scooped up the cat and gripped Bruce's arm with his free hand, steadying him. "Easy. Lets get you inside," he cautioned, slowly helping him inside. There were quite a few holes and damages, but it could've been worse he supposed. "You can have my bed for now, I'll sleep on the couch. You need it more," he added. 

Bruce was grateful for the support, and he let Tony lead him inside. He did his best to step over rubble and debris, but he snagged his toes a few times. Finally he collapsed on Tony's bed without a complaint, his room being all but destroyed. He looked up at Tony wearily, fighting his heavy lids. "Rest," Tony commanded gently, setting the kitten down to roam. It would probably end up on Bruce's chest at some point anyway. "I'll try and clean up a little," he added as he walked out. Bruce quickly obliged, his heavy lids falling closed and his arm dangling off one side of the couch. The kitten jumped atop his chest, struggling to gain purchase at first. But he managed to climb on, and he quickly took to curling on Bruce's chest, even though it didn't emit nearly as much heat as before, and he himself fell asleep, his small black form rising and falling with Bruce's snores.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A kitten! Was anyone expecting that? Anyway, more to come in the next chapters, so stay tuned and as always, thank you so much for reading!


	23. Curry and Kittens

Bruce woke to the scratch of a feline tongue against his face. He blinked and gave the kitten in his face a bemused look, before grabbing it and moving it away from him head. Sitting up tiredly, he placed the cat in his lap and stroked it softly. His stomach growled, and a thought occurred to him: did Tony even bother to buy food for this little guy? That would explain why the little guy had woken him. He stood and walked into the kitchen, the little guy padding along side him, and began to rummage through cabinets looking for anything he could use as cat food. There were a few cans of tuna in the cabinet, and a gallon of milk in the fridge, and though it wasn't real cat food at least Tony had thought to get him something he could eat. Judging from the soft snoring he could hear from down the hall, Tony was still asleep. It looked like he would be in charge of food for the morning.

Bruce decided on milk for the little guy, and poured some into a bowl for him, which the kitten took to drinking happily. Bruce smiled, admiring how adorable the cat was. He had never told Tony this, but he'd used to bring home injured animals all the time when he was a kid to patch up. Dogs, cats, even the occasional bird. He'd stopped when his dad found one of them that Bruce had hidden in his closet, and well... he just never brought home another after that. He grimaced at the memory, and pulled out the curry he made yesterday to heat up, his stomach rumbling impatiently. 

The smell of food and coffee woke Tony. Hair mussed and clothes wrinkled, he stumbled out of bed and slowly into the kitchen, eyes half shut. "Nnfgh.. Coffee," he mumbled, groping for the pot. He managed to pour some without spilling it, then in turn began to drink it black as he watched the kitten with his milk. "Did you name the squirt yet?" He asked, voice slightly clearer after the magical waking powers of coffee.

Bruce shook his head, still eating his leftovers. He'd put on a pot of coffee figuring Tony would wander in sooner of later. "Can't really think of anything other than Loki, to be honest. And since the Other Guy actually seems to like him, I don't think naming him after a super villain is a good idea," he admitted. "You think of anything?" Bruce asked as he took another bite, watching the kitten. 

Tony snorted into his coffee at the suggestion, coughing and leaning over the sink. "Not Loki," he rasped, eyes watering from the combination of choking and hot coffee in his throat. Straightening, he cleared his throat several times before starting to drink again. "No clue. Never really liked animals until now." It could have something to do with the fact that he hadn't been allowed a pet growing up. It had more or less caused him to resent animals, deciding that he didn't need them anyway.

Bruce grew wide-eyed as Tony began to choke, and he moved over to help, but Tony had already mostly recovered by the time he was close enough. He stepped back, running a hand thoughtfully across his face. "How about Schrodinger? Too long?" It was really bugging him that he couldn't think of anything decent. The little guy deserved a good name. 

Tony chuckled softly at the suggestion, shaking his head. "Nah, too science-y," he disagreed, tilting his head slightly as he gazed down at the little kitten. "He looks like a little bean.. Little Black Bean. Only problem is that he won't stay a little bean forever, so that's out," he mused, stooping to scratch his ear affectionately.

Bruce considered this, glancing down as the kitten nudged its head against his ankles. "Maybe something Latin? Like Nox or Stello?" he asked. He kind of liked the sound of those, but he still wasn't sure. He heated Tony's bowl of curry for himself, hoping that the billionaire wouldn't mind. After the forced Hulk out and the healing, he needed lots of food. To his left, Tony was digging through the pantry that they had managed to at least partially fill for their stay and had procured a bag of oyster crackers. "I like Nox," he said after swallowing a mouthful.

Bruce picked the kitten up, stroking him on the head. "Nox it is then," he decided, holding him up in the air. Nox purred softly in agreement, licking Bruce's fingers.

"Cool. I'm glad you like him," Tony said with a slight smile, working on a second mug of coffee. He wasn't used to pets, but he could make an exception for the cat. He was sweet anyway, Tony sort of liked him. For a thing that sheds, anyway. "I wonder what the others will think of him when we get back," Bruce mused, setting Nox back down on the floor to roam around. It had probably been at least six or seven years since he's had a pet, and he had kind of missed the feeling. 

"We'll need to make sure Thor doesn't crush the thing teaching him to hunt or some crazy shit like that," Tony replied, stirring sugar into his cup. First cup black, second cup with sugar and creamer, that was his routine. "I'm betting Natasha is secretly a softy and cuddles with him." That would definitely go on the Internet.

Bruce smirked, imagining both scenarios in his head easily (well, Natasha's not so much). "Considering how the little guy likes to lay down and nap on everything, I can't help but think what Steve would do if he were to fall asleep on his shield," Bruce chuckled, finishing up his second bowl and placing it in the sink. "Or if he were to slink into the lab and start to try and lay down on our equipment." 

"Steve is too much of a Boy Scout to make the kitten move if he fell asleep on his shield," Tony said with an eye roll, his gaze dropping on Nox. "As long as we don't accidentally turn him into a giant lion or something, he should probably be fine in the lab."

Bruce laughed wholeheartedly, trying to imagine a massive lion in the place of this tiny thing. "Then I guess we'd have something in common, turning into hulking, predatory beasts," he mused, only the slightest twinge of bitterness audible in his tone. He had meant it to be funny, but he fell a bit short. He watched the cat walk around for a bit, chuckling when the poor thing nearly fell on its face attempting to jump back on the couch. He went over to help it along, picking it up and placing it on the orange cushions. "I'm gonna go change, okay?" he asked while Nox fell asleep, heading toward his room (or what was left of it). 

Tony didn't allow his face to betray his emotions. "Yeah, except a lion is the perfect size for Hulk," he replied casually, watching the kitten climb up the couch. "Yeah, go ahead," he added with a wave of his hand, meandering over to the couch. Eventually he found himself gently stroking the cat as he read the paper. Today they didn't have much to do other than relax. Maybe do a little sight seeing, since they couldn't do another campaign so soon after Bruce had last Hulked out. "You and me both," he muttered as the cat went limp beneath his hand, being completely lazy. There was nothing better to do, so he gave in and turned his attention on the cat.

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Bruce had been snoring peacefully on the couch, Nox curled on his chest, when it happened. He heard the crash of a window, and he started, knocking the kitten off of his chest and into his lap, looking around dazedly to see what had broken. A grey, nauseous gas began to fill the room, obscuring his vision and suffocating him. Nox scampered to the floor and away from the noise and smell, frightened, and Bruce threw him a glance before placing his shirt over his mouth and nose in an attempt to breathe, but it didn't make a difference. The room began to dull and blur, and before he could even think about releasing the Other Guy, he hit the ground with soft thud, and the world turned black.

If Tony had stirred at all when the window broke, the gas that seeped under his door kept him asleep. It was hours later that he finally stirred, groaning and rubbing his eyes. He didn't sense that anything was wrong at first when he walked into the kitchen. The coffeemaker not being on was strange though. Frowning, he looked at the couch. "Bruce?" He didn't see him. Nox stood by Tony's feet, pawing worriedly. He meowed softly to try and get his attention, but he wasn't noticed until after Tony had already begun to look around. Tony looked down at Nox, raising an eyebrow. He stooped and picked the little cat up, looking at him curiously. "Where's Bruce? Not that you could answer me.." He sighed, setting the kitten down and examining the couch with a frown.

Nox padded across the room impatiently, sitting by the window and meowing softly. The Hulkbusters had cleaned up the shards of glass littering the floor, but they hadn't replaced the window, which still had a large hole in the bottom left corner where they had thrown the gas bomb. The cat was no genius, but he still knew by instinct when something was a miss, and apparently Tony wasn't awake enough to figure it out without some help. 

Tony looked over at the cat, and then up at the window. "What the..?" He crouched, and noticing something under the armchair, reached under it and pulled out the empty gas canister. "Oh fuck .. Bruce!" He dropped it, panicking for a moment. They took him! What was he supposed to do? "Where did they go, Nox?" He ran to his suit and pulled the helmet off it, putting it on his head and pulling up the HUD. "Start tracking them," he barked at Jarvis. 

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Bruce mind was foggy, and his tongue felt like lead in his mouth as he began to stir. He could hear words being spoken around him, but he couldn't quite grasp their meaning. They echoed around him, as if those who spoke them were standing at the bottom of a well. His head lolled to the side, and he groaned weakly as it pounded in protest of his actions. With effort, Bruce opened his eyes to see blurry figures standing over him, talking excitedly. He could begin to make out the words slightly, and after a moment one of the figures patted him a few times, not-so-gently, on the cheek to try and rouse him further into consciousness. "Ah, Doctor Banner! How nice of you to join us!" The voice made him freeze stiff, clarity finally coming to his vision, as his eyes focused on General Ross.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a short chapter to keep you interested. More to come! Stay tuned and as always, thank you for reading!


	24. Don't Take My Stuff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, my god. It's been so long since I put a chapter up that I had nearly forgotten that this story even existed. But clearly other people remembered, because I've gotten a number of positive messages, full of anticipation. I am so, so sorry to have made you all wait like this. To anyone who's been waiting eagerly, this is for you. Please forgive me, life is so hectic that I barely have time to sleep anymore, let alone write. But since I have a few hours, I'm putting this up now. To everyone who sent me a message or checked back to see if this was still active, you have my most heartfelt thanks. You are the real inspiration for writing. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Bruce blinked the rest of the blurriness from his vision and stared at Ross stupidly, his mind still in a fog. He could feel something plastic covering the bottom half of his face, what he assumed to be a hospital issued oxygen mask. The general grinned at Bruce's expression, his hands clamped behind his back as he strode in front of the entrapped scientist. 

"Finding it a bit hard to think?" he asked smugly. "See, I have this paper that says you're a threat to the general populace, which means that my boys here are going to pump you with enough drugs to keep you all but comatose until I deem you fit to roam free again. Sure it's costing thousands of tax payer dollars, but hey, if it's to keep a national threat at bay, it's worth every penny. That damn metabolism of yours, always making things difficult." He gave Bruce another wide grin, before turning to the assistant next to him. "Give him another dose. He doesn't need to be awake for awhile," he instructed, leaving the room. The assistant, with only minor hesitance, pressed the appropriate buttons and the same nauseous gas began to invade Bruce's nose. He attempted to struggle and remove the mask, but found he couldn't lift his arm. He was unconscious with seconds. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony was absolutely furious. He had tracked every possible lead he had--Ross' last transmission, cell phones of HulkBusters, even cameras that could connect to the Internet that were in the area. He couldn't find much, but he did have enough to piece together a small lead. It was a start. Throwing money on the counter, the inventor suited up an cast their new kitten a final glance.

"Sorry, no pets allowed on this flight," he muttered, making a note to himself to come back for the cat once he saved his scientist. If he was able to, anyway. "Alright Jarvis. Lets go get Bruce." Two steps out the door and then he was off like a rocket, not bothering to hide his departure or get further away from civilization. People would come up with an explanation, and besides, he had no time to waste. It was a damn good thing he wasn't the one with rage problems, because otherwise Australia would be floating across the ocean in little pieces by now. Jarvis was tracking the Hulkbusters' progress and at the rate they were going, they would get there in less than an hour. And then Tony would murder Ross.

Well, no he wouldn't. Tony liked to think his killing days were behind him, dead with his weapon-building career, but on the other hand, he'd never been so angry. Bruce was a close friend, and the only person he had right now, and Ross had plucked him right out of Tony's hands. He'd pay, in one manner or another. Sometimes death could be a blessing. 

He was shaken from his vengeful thoughts by Jarvis, who had apparently tracked down their missing gamma-expert. [i]Target is within range. Thermal scans suggest that Doctor Banner is in the lower levels; he is not alone.[/i] Peering ahead, Tony could make out a building on a small tropical island below. He'd lost track of how long he had been flying, but he knew it couldn't have been long enough that they were anywhere close to another continent. Clearly Ross hadn't thought out his escape plan. Hell, maybe he thought that no one would find his facility just because it was in the middle of the ocean. Either way, Tony was grateful that they'd been able to find it in so little time. 

"Got it. Hold tight Jarv, things are about to get rough," he growled, a target appearing on the HUD. He lined it up with the wall he deemed had the least structural integrity, and launched his waiting missile. The resulting rocket shot at the expanse of wall and blew it open wide, the hole filled a second later with a furious Iron Man. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pain awaited Bruce this time as he resurfaced from unconsciousness. He clenched his jaw to keep from crying out, and looked to see deep gashes along his arms and abdomen, streaming blood into containers while tubes pumped chemicals into his system. What the hell were they doing to him? Ross' drugs were muddling his thoughts and suppressing the Hulk. A slight spike in his heart rate alerted the scientists in the room to his awakened state.

"How the hell is he even conscious?!" One of them asked in disbelief. "He should be in a freakin' coma by now!"  
"Well obviously he's not, so why don't you just shut up and give him some more!" Another called, irritation plain in his tone. Bruce heard something rustle beside him, and he was out a moment later. 

After that, he didn't wake save for when they wanted him to be conscious. Poor Bruce was completely oblivious to the things being done to his body, to the man observing him constantly through the experiments. Ross clucked his tongue happily as he observed their progress with Banner, who was lying limply on the exam table where he'd left him hours before, dead to the world. Said table was positioned at about a seventy degree angle from the ground, allowing his scientists to poke and prod all they wanted to and still have Banner's blood drain to where they needed it. He collected sample after sample of his blood, hoping that it held the answers he so desperately craved. He still sought to create his own army of super soldiers, and Banner's irradiated blood would be just the thing to get him there. He also wanted to test out some of the more dangerous drugs that his men had come up with on the physicist, both because he wanted to know the limitations of said drugs, and to know how much it would take to kill him. Some may think him cruel, but he didn't exactly give a rat's ass about what other people thought. He'd been jumping through hoops over the past few months trying to get clearance to capture Banner, and he'd finally had him in his grasp, until the coward ran off with Stark to the other side of the world. But none of that really mattered now. He had Banner, and he would finally get what he wanted. Everything was going perfectly... until the wall exploded.

Ross and his team coughed furiously as dust and debris from the wall filled the air. A few assistants lie unconscious on the floor, having been standing in front of the wall before the missile brought it down. Ross waved the dust away with one arm, his other pressed against his mouth as he struggled to breathe. Alarms blared and footsteps sounded throughout the corridor as the Hulkbuster team marched in and surrounded Tony, weapons trained on his suit, bringing a smirk to Ross's face. When the dust settled enough for him to speak, he sneered, "Thought you might show up at some point, Stark." The aggression in his tone wasn't helped any by the fact that he looked very unimpressive covered head to toe in gray dust. 

"Ross," Tony spat contemptuously in return, shoulder pad lifting up to reveal one of his smaller rockets. No less painful, though. He had three trained on the general, the other three locked onto weapon bearing people in the room. "I believe you took something that doesn't belong to you. Let him go, and maybe I won't rip this place apart," he threatened, not bothered by the weapons he was surrounded by. He knew by now that mere bullets did nothing to his suits.

The general smirked despite the death threat staring him in the face. "I think that you should be a bit kinder, Stark. Didn't Bruce tell you? We've gotten a weapons upgrade! Remember your old friend Norman Osborn? Well, I guess he's gone into the weapons industry, to pick up where you left off, and our new guns pack quite a bigger punch than our old ones. We got to have a test run of them in Brazil, left the Hulk with some nasty scorch marks, but I'm sure it'll do much more damage to your suit," he sneered. He turned to the men with weapons trained and barked, "Fire!" Then, everything went to hell.

Tony crouched and then shot upward, flares spiraling out from his hips to cause confusion as he plowed through to the next floor. He was following Bruce's heat signature, which was significantly hotter than everyone else's. He wouldn't kill unless he had to, though he wanted to murder Ross. He blasted the ceiling with a repulsor, causing debris to fall in his wake that would hopefully stop or slow his pursuers.  
Ross and his team were attempting to gather their bearings, but considering none of them could see or breathe, they wouldn't be doing much of anything for a while. Well, almost anything. Ross managed to make his way to the computers on the other side of the room, and he placed his thumbprint against the awaiting scanner. "Code Ross-Nocturne-0-0-2-5-Aqua-3 Lock down," he coughed, sending the building into high security lock down and preventing anyone from getting in or out. He hoped that it would at least occupy Stark long enough for his team to get back on their feet. Stark was getting far too close by the sounds of it. He was probably only a few rooms down from where Banner lay. All he could do was regroup his men and push for another attack against the billionaire.

Down the hall, Tony growled when a heavy metal door slammed down in his face. Activating the laser on his wrist, he crouched and quickly as he could began carving a piece out of the steel. Once he reached the bottom again, he kicked the piece out, running through the gap he had created and jogging towards his target. Two repulsor blasts obliterated the door, and then he was in, and the sight of his friend made his stomach turn.

"Bruce!" He ran over, trying to make sense of what they had done to him and not puke at the same time. He looked god-awful strapped to that table and half dead. Tony seized the nearest doctor and held him up, a gun popping out of his arm that he held up to the man's face. "Tell me what you did to him. NOW!" He demanded, heart pounding in his chest. If they took Bruce from him... if they killed his most trustworthy confidant... There was going to be a problem.

The frightened doctor looked down the barrel of Tony's gun, trembling. "I was just following orders!" he squeaked. "I'm really just an assistant. The general ordered me to pump him full of experimental drugs that his scientists have developed. He shouldn't even be alive with all of the toxins running through his system right now! I don't know how he's still breathing..." he explained, a pleading tone in his voice. He glanced over at Bruce's still form, substances still feeding into his blood through tubes and wires. He knew how bad it looked, and he could only imagine what Tony would do to them. He gave another petrified wail as Tony dragged him close until they were face to face, the cold, expressionless helmet reflecting his own terrified face. Nose to nose with the doctor, his robotic voice commanded, 

"When I put you down, you're getting out of here. You don't work for these people anymore. You say you're just following orders? That's a human being you've nearly killed on that table!" He dropped the man and shoved him away, returning to Bruce's side without waiting to see if the man complied with his orders. He pulled the IV's out of Bruce's arms, working on breaking the restraints that held him down. "Come on, Bruce. You can come back from this.." He muttered. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ross's team had finally managed to find their bearings, and they were currently in pursuit of Tony. Their trek was much more difficult, what with most of the stairs being destroyed in Tony's rampage, but they were able to catch up in time. Footsteps of Ross's men pounded on the concrete floors in the hall outside the room Bruce was housed in, echoing off the walls, with Ross following close behind. Terrified doctors and scientists fled past them, but the general paid them no attention, instead focusing on the man trying to steal away his prize. 

Seeing that they were once again under threat of fire, Tony leveled his hand at the door. "I'll kill you, Ross! Don't think I won't!" He shouted, daring them to come in the room. "You think I wouldn't kill? Think I'm too noble to kill any of you, because I'm the good guy? Then come on in. I might as well have a reason for being a fugitive." If he was marked a super villain, if wouldn't matter as long as he saved Bruce. His soul was already damned anyway; Bruce's life was worth saving.  
Meanwhile he was charging up his chest unibeam, ready to blow a hole in the wall. It was strong enough to blast through multiple walls even, but he had to give it a few moments to charge. Hopefully his speech bought him some time.

Ross held up a hand signalling for his men to stop. They got what they needed. Plenty in fact. At least for now. He wanted to get to work on whipping up that super soldier serum, and he had boxes of vials already being shipped out to multiple facilities, as well as his own private stash. And he'd gotten several sheets' worth of those drugs tested on mean and green. "Alright, Stark. We have what we needed, for the moment. Don't think I won't be back. In the mean time, I would get Banner checked out; he doesn't look so hot," he taunted, quickly leaving the corridor. It wasn't the response Tony had expected, nor did he anticipate the facility coming off of lock down. Normally he would've chased Ross, but he was right: Bruce didn't look good. At all. 

He fired a few shots from his repulsor that missed both Ross and his team, then turned to tend to his unconscious friend. Scooping Bruce into his arms, he walked through the door with his head held high. No one stopped him, especially when his guns were visible and trained on anyone who so much as blinked. When he got outside, he made sure Bruce was secure and still breathing, and then took to the sky. They needed to get somewhere safe, and more importantly, Bruce needed medical attention. Tony didn't know how much longer the doctor was going to hold out. They couldn't go back to Australia; Ross would find them there. He had an idea, albeit a risky one, but if successful it would give the pair a great place to hide while Bruce recovered. Turning north, Tony kicked his thrusters into high gear and off they flew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School is finishing up, so hopefully I can post more frequently during the summer. As always, thanks for reading!


End file.
